Flyer Cheats Death

Recovering slowly after a miracu- lous escape from death, Lt. Frederick C. Witzel '44, according to his father, would be happy to hear from his Dartmouth friends during his period of convalescence. Witzel has been hospitalized for months and was only recently removed from a cast that almost completely covered him. It is expected that he will be sent either to Westover Field or his home, 108 Dover Rd., Longmeadow, Mass., for further treatment.

The series of accidents which caused his injury occurred at Craig Field, Ala., where he was an instructor of the Free French in acrobatics and advanced single engine instrument flying. In August, while flying at 8000 feet, his plane caught fire. Unable to extinguish the flames, Witzel leveled off at 3000 feet and ordered the student with him to jump. In the process of getting the student out, the canopy slammed on Witzel's hand pinning him in. By the time he had extricated himself, the plane was so close to the ground that he had to pull the rip cord of the parachute immediately and it caught in the tail of the plane ripping out a panel. Witzel plummetted to the ground landing with such force that his right leg was driven up into his body breaking the pelvis back and front. The plane crashed within two hundred feet of him.