in one of them and had jumped out when he saw the bomber approaching, was instantly killed. A report of the official investigation of this accident contains the following statement: "Both the normal brake system and the emergency brake system were tested and found to be working. However, when the cowl flaps were opened and the switch returned to normal, all pressure was lost in the main brake system. There was a definite indication of a leak in the system somewhere. The emergency system was in correct operating condition. "It is the opinion of the Aircraft Accident Committee that the pilot used good judgment in ground looping the airplane in the proper direction in order to avoid going into the main thoroughfare and crashing into a crowd of people and parked automobiles. The committee is, however, of the opinion that the pilot used poor technique in not using his emergency-brake system which is standard operating procedure. Accident is attributed to 100-percent pilot error." William E. O'Brien was 28 years of age at the time of his death and left surviving his wife, Mrs. Barbara O'Brien, age 23 years, and a daughter, Sharon Barbara O'Brien, 1 year of age. Mrs. O'Brien has since remarried, and is now Mrs. Barbara O'Brien Farquer. The date of her remarriage is not of record in this Department. Mr. O'Brien was employed by the Pennsylvania Central Airlines as a copilot and was earning $210 a month at the time of his death. In a statement dated January 28, 1944, C. W. Weiblen, chief pilot, Pennsylvania Central Airlines Corp., said: "As evidenced by his work under my direct supervision, Mr. O'Brien had proved himself to be most promising material as a copilot and for further advance ment to the position of first pilot. Had he proceeded in the normal course of events, his salary would have been increased from the $210 per month he was making at time of his death to $350 per month by August 16, 1946, on or about which date, if he had not been needed before that, he would have been promoted to the rank of first pilot and his salary thereafter would have averaged $600 per month or better." It appears that Mr. O'Brien was working on a part-time basis for the Floyd Foren Flyers while not engaged in his regular duties with the Pennsylvania Central Airlines. Since he was not killed while in the course of his employment with the Pennsylvania Central Airlines, his widow was not entitled to any workmen's compensation benefits on account of his death. The records of the Department of the Army disclose that expenses were incurred in connection with the burial (cremation) of Mr. O'Brien in the amount of $232. The evidence in this case clearly establishes that this accident and the resulting death of William E. O'Brien were not caused by any fault or negligence on his part but appear to have been caused by "pilot error" on the part of the pilot of the Army airplane involved in the accident. The Department of the Army, therefore, believes that Mr. O'Brien's estate should be compensated in a reasonable amount on account of his death, as well as for the burial expenses. The proposed award of $10,232 stated in S. 1994 appears to be somewhat excessive, but the Department would have no objection to the enactment of this bill if it should be amended to provide for an award to the estate of the decedent in the amount of $7,232 ($232 for burial expenses; and $7,000 for the death of Mr. O'Brien), which, it is believed, would constitute a fair and reasonable settlement for all of the damages sustained on account of his death. Since Mr. O'Brien left a minor child, and as his widow has since remarried, it is believed that any award which may be made by the Congress in this case should be made to the estate of the decedent rather than to his widow as proposed by S. 1994. Accordingly, if this bill is favorably considered by the Congress, it is recommended that the title and text thereof be amended to read as follows: "A BILL for the relief of the estate of William E. O'Brien, deceased "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is herby, authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the estate of William E. O'Brien, deceased, late of Detroit, Michigan, the sum of $7,232, in full settlement of all claims of the said estate against the United States on account of the death of the said William E. O'Brien, on November 20, 1943, as a result of injuries sustained when an airplane in which he was sitting was struck by an Army airplane at the Detroit City Airport, Detroit, Michigan: Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received H by any agent or agents, attorney or attorneys, on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000." Neither the estate nor next of kin of William E. O'Brien have a remedy under the Federal Tort Claims Act (60 Stat. 842; 28 U. S. C. 921) for the reason that the accident which resulted in his death occurred prior to January 1, 1945. Sincerely yours, KENNETH C. ROYALL, To Whom It May Concern: PENNSYLVANIA CENTRAL AIRLINES, The following is the employment record of William E. O'Brien with Pennsylvania-Central Airlines: The following is in reference to the work and status of William E. O'Brien, copilot with Pennsylvania-Central Airlines who met his death by accident November 20, 1943. As evidenced by his work under my direct supervision, Mr. O'Brien had proved himself to be most promising material as a copilot and for further advancement to the position of first pilot. Had he proceeded in the normal course of events, his salary would have been increased from the $210 per month he was making at time of his death to $350 per month by August 16, 1946, on or about which date, if he had not been needed before that, he would have been promoted to the rank of first pilot and his salary thereafter would have averaged $600 per month or better. Very truly yours, PENNSYLVANIA-CENTRAL AIRLINES CORP., UNITED STATES AIR FORCES: This brief to be considered as claim for recovery of lost earnings to Mrs. Wm. E. O'Brien by the death of her husband Wm. E. O'Brien killed in accident caused by Second Lt. Paul O'Bagy at Detroit City Airport, Detroit, Mich., on November 20, 1943. Amount of claim___ Amount of funeral expenses.. Total_ $10,000 232 10, 232 Wm. E. O'Brien was employed by Pennsylvania-Central Airlines December 20, 1939, in Cleveland, Ohio, as a cargo handler. By applying himself, and with desire to better his future, he started at the bottom and worked his way up through practically every station position in Pennsylvania-Central Airlines, as the attached company employment record will show. In 1942 O'Brien decided to better himself by becoming a commercial pilot flying on the air line and leaving the ground work. Therefore, O'Brien took instruction in flying in his free time and continued to very satisfactorily fulfill his duties in his different positions with Pennsylvania-Central Airlines until October 29, 1943, when he received his commercial pilots license. O'Brien was assigned to Pennsylvania-Central Airlines copilot training school at Roanoke, Va., to obtain instrument rating. This assignment was made by Pennsylvania-Central Airlines due to his past record being very satisfactory in all positions that he had held and his thorough knowledge of air-line operations. O'Brien completed all his primary schooling in February 1943, having obtained his commercial pilots license with instrument rating. He was then assigned to fly as copilot on Pennsylvania-Central Airlines system between Detroit, Washington, and Milwaukee, working under the supervision of the different captains flying for Pennsylvania-Central. The period flying as copilot for the company is 11⁄2 to 2 years at which time copilots are checked out and promoted to the grade of captain-this final ambition and desire of O'Brien's being stopped by his death. The past earnings of O'Brien from December 1939 to November 1943 averaged $8,080. His income started at $70 per month and ended at $170 per month in ground positions. He started in flying assignment at $165 per month and advanced to $210 per month at time of death. The possible future earnings, lost due to death, with regular advancement as copilot to time of check out with an increase of $30 every 6 months would average at the end of 2 years $280 per month, indicating the loss of $2,780 for year beyond O'Brien's death or time of check out for promotion. When copilots on Pennsylvania-Central are promoted to captain under contract with company flying 85 hours per month, new captains average between $650 to $700 per month. Therefore possible loss in earnings for 2 years past O'Brien's death would be $7,800 and this amount yearly as long as working as captain flying for Pennsylvania-Central Airlines. The accident causing the before-mentioned losses in earning power of Wm. E. O'Brien was caused by a member of U. S. Air Forces, Second Lt. Paul O'Bagy through O'Bagy's handling of a B-17 with all indications from reports due to inexperience in handling of B-17's, or pilot's error in making decision which resulted in the destroying of two ships and killing Wm. E. O'Brien. The attached are copies of statements to support this claim. Any consideration that the Air Forces will give as to payment of this claim will be greatly appreciated by Mrs. Wm. E. O'Brien as she is left alone with s baby 15 months old, and with no possible outlook to earning a living for herself and baby for the next 5 years. It will be impossible for her to obtain work, and still take care of her baby, until such time the child can enter school leaving Mrs. O'Brien free time to obtain work to support herself and dependent. 1st Session No. 603 WILLIAM S. MEANY MAY 18, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. DENTON, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 782) The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (S. 782) for the relief of William S. Meany, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The facts will be found fully set forth in Senate Report No. 74, Eightieth Congress, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report. Your committee concur in the recommendation of the Senate. 18. Rept. No. 74. 81st Cong. 1st sess. The bill would authorize and direct the Postmaster General to credit the accounts of William S. Meany, postmaster at Greenwich, Conn., in the sum of $17,573.80, the amount due the United States on account of the embezzlement of post-office funds by Joseph W Delaney. the former assistant postmaster at Greenwich STATEMENT The facts are fully set forth below in the attached letters received from the Department of Justice and the Office of the Postmaster General. APRIL 24, 1947. Hon. ALEXANDER WILEY, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. WILEY: This is in response to your request for a report on the bill (S. 431) for the relief of William S. Meany The bill would authorize and direct the Postmaster General to credit the accounts of William S. Meany, postmaster at Greenwich, Conn., in the sum of $17,573.80, the amount due the United States on account of the embezzlement of post-office funds by Joseph W. Delaney, the former assistant postmaster at Green wich In compliance with your instructions, I requested the Post Office Department to report on this measure. The Post Office Department's report, which is enclosed, states that the investigation made in the case did not disclose that Mr. Meany profited in any manner from the embezzlement or that he was directly responsible for it and, accordingly, there is no objection to the enactment of the bill. I concur in this recommendation. I have been advised by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the submission of this report. incerely yours, DOUGLAS W. MCGREGOR, The Assistant to the Attorney General. Hon. DOUGLAS W. MCGREGOR, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, The Assistant to the Attorney General, DEAR MR. MCGREGOR: This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of February 12, 1947, requesting my comments upon S. 431, a bill for the relief of William S. Meany. On October 24, 1941, the assistant postmaster at Greenwich, Conn., Joseph W. Delaney, was removed for embezzling approximately $55,050. An investigation disclosed that this embezzlement had taken place over a period of some years and was accomplished through the preparation of improvised bills and book entries to cover the embezzlement Sufficient collections were made upon the bonds of the former assistant postmaster to cover all but $17,573.80 of the embezzlement. which amount has been charged against Postmaster Meany by the General Accounting Office. The investigation made in this case did not disclose that the postmaster profitec. in any manner from this embezzlement, or that he was directly responsible for the embezzlements made by his former assistant postmaster. In view of these circumstances I will interpose no objection to the enactment of S. 431 To protect the interests of the Government in this case, pending a determination by Congress, recommendation will be made to the Department of Justice, in the near future, that suit be instituted against William S. Meany to recover the amount due the United States on account of the embezzlement of post-office funds by Joseph W. Delaney, the former assistant postmaster at Greenwich. Conn., post office. Sincerely yours, |