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northwest toward Short Hill which at that time was covered by a dark storm cloud. Shortly thereafter she went to the house and while inside, she heard an unusual noise. She was unable to identify the noise precisely, stating that it "sounded like an old truck". The witness testified that about 10 or 15 minutes after the airplane passed over, an unusually heavy rainstorm began but that there was not much wind and she heard only one clap of thunder.
Subsequent to the hearing, the Board's investigators again questioned Mrs. Hickman and in the manner described in Footnote 7 assisted her in estimating the elapsed time between the various events recounted in her testimony. According to her statement she saw the airplane, saw lightning, heard thunder and then this unusual noise. The time recorded was 50 seconds between the sight of the airplane and the lighting, 4 seconds between the lighting and the thunder, and 12 seconds between the thunder and the unusual noise. The point at which Mrs. Hickman said she saw the airplane was at an angle of 36 degrees above the horizontal on a bearing of 301 degrees magnetic.
H. O. Vincell testified that he was sitting on the front porch of his home, which is located about 2½ miles southeast of the scene of the accident when his attention was drawn to a large airplane flying "a little lower than common." He stated that he watched the airplane proceed toward Short Hill which was then obscured by a dark storm cloud until it "disappeared into a fog". Shortly thereafter he saw a "pretty sharp" stroke of lightning, heard thunder, and then a "devil of a noise" which he later described as a crash. Thinking that the airplane was going to fall on his house, Mr. Vincell ran out into the yard. Testifying with respect to the weather at this time, he stated that it was overcast at his home with a dark cloud hanging over Short Hill. The Hill was "white with fog". Mr. Vincell stated that a heavy rain started about five or ten minutes after he saw the airplane.
