Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) image from 1940 restored

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) image from 1940 restored by Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) on February 1, 2011. I took the original 1.5 MB jpg scan and converted it into a png file which was now 3 MB. I imported it into GIMP and desaturated the image to remove the sepia tone and get it into black and white. I saved that image and imported it into Picnik and used the auto-fix function which optimizes the contrast and brightness. I then used Picnik to re-add in a sepia tone so it matches the original scan. The result is a much cleaner image and it is 1.6 MB.

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 1 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 1 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 2 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 2 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 3 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 3 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 4 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 4 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 5 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 5 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 6 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 6 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 7 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 7 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 8 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 8 of 11

[raw OCR data awaiting corrections]

were flying at approximately the same altitude at that time. When my husband's plane a left turn in order to land the plane, was then some distance behind my husband’s plane, also made a e t turn; he turned before reach- iqg the spot planç hug turned and overtook my husband’a an easily avoidable move, had the Navy ensign been Wßhclfing, but he wasn t. My husband's'p]ane was ñying nt. 11 speed of about 65 to 70 miles per hour; the plan@ at miles pe_r hqur slightly higher. M _The Navy ensign testi- Bod that. when he saw my huaband's plane, it was "directly ahead of him," and he wak over the crmtrola from his pupil (who had onlyŕlogged 2 hours' time of dual instrllction) in an attempt tn avoid the collision. he pupil, Newaomer, t-hat hef loçking atńluìinstrumnnta after completing the turn and Ewwu I-naw nu nnen xumung un n_n; cßmpletln UIB tllrn failed to see the other airplane until after he felt the Navy ensign. äiuehner, 'toko the controls from him. When Newcomer looked up immediately after this, he saw the other airplane directly in front, of the propeller of his plane. My hun- band’a plano was completely demolished; the Navy plane returned with its oecu- parjlts, safely, to the naval‘st.a.tion. I have read with great interest and deep sorrow, the report of the Civil Aero- nautics Board with regard to trañic control at Bennett Field, and the lack of, and delay in, -prescribing adequate airport. tra c regulations. I respectfully invite attention to pages 6, 7, and 8 of the Civil Aeronautics Board 7 is_no‘bhing that I can say or add with regard tothat. That is gecullarly within the knowledge of the authorities. hint air had been very congested in the vicinity of Floyd Bennett Field, that about 125 airplanes based at the of dißerent weights, horsepower, and speeds, and that six approved civilian flying schools were o smting at the field, was common knowledge; that civilians as well as Naval äeserve and Marine Reserve sgruadrons wena training nr the field was also well known, and anyone could see om’20 to 30 airplanes manouvoring around the field during congested periods on Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and holidays. Apparently there was no adequate set of airport traffic rules, nor was there adéquate enforcement of the existing rules and a hazardous traffic condition hm existed at. the airport which had led, I am informed and believe, to previous accidents. In fact, the Civil Acrouautícs Board refers to “numerous near col- lisions in the air in the vicinity of the airport". Everyone seems to agree, and the report of the Civil Aeronautics Board em- phqticaily _so states! _thot the Navy pilot andAhis pupil Newcomer, who, with only 2 hours of instruction was apgarently allowed to pilot this plane through this congested and dangerous area. oth had ampie opportunity * In observe the other plane (my husbands) as it almost directly in front of them and at the same altitude. Keuhner merelv stated he did not see the other lane until immediately before the collision. Newcomer had been watchin hill); 1n- struments to observo the elfects of his left turn and armarentlv oontänued to struments to observe the of his left tum and apparently contïnued to watch them for too -long si tune. It was Keuhner’s respoxmibility (so the Board states) as instructor, to watch for other aizäalancs in the vicinity and in the traffic lane. In view of the congested traffic con ition in the vicinity of the and of the fact that Newcomer had logged only 2 hours dual instruction time Kuehner should have exercised the utmost care in watching for such other airplanes. It is apparent that the probable cause of the accident was his carelessness in failing to exercise auch care. “The lack of adequate traffic rules in the vicinity of the airport wa@ a mn- trjbuhirig factor. _the proposed had, been promulgated and made efïective more expeditlously, the plane would have been at 800 feet and the Piper would have been flying at 500 feet, had their pilote been obeying these traffic rules, and the accident would thus have been averted. “Probable cause.-Upon the basis of all the evidenee available to the Board at this time we End that the probable cause of the accident was the careleßsnees of Ensign Kuehner, while circling the airport, in failing to observe the other in time to avoid it, Conińbuting factor.-We further find that the of, and delay in prescribing adequate airport traffic rules contributed to I-he accident." I n ain most respectfully invite attent-ion to the report of the Civil Aeronautics »arg nnncndcd hereto. and to the written statements liknwinn Annnndm hnrpfn Board hereto. and to the written statements likewise appended hereto. In furt er corrohoration of the findings of the Board and the nf the ïlane for the accident, may Irespectfully advise that I have been informed and be that the Secretary of the Navy approved the claim of the fiyíng school for the property damage to ita plane; this, as far back as March 1941.

Person:
Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) was a record holding aviator who fought for the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War and died in a plane crash (b. October 20, 1911, 2nd Avenue and 17th Street, Manhattan, New York County, New York City, New York, USA - d. December 23, 1940, Deep Creek and Flatbush Avenue, Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, Kings County, Long Island, New York City, New York, USA)

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 9 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 9 of 11.

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 10 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 10 of 11.

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 11 of 11

Eddie August Schneider (1911-1940) Congressional inquiry of November 7, 1941; page 11 of 11.