Delegates to the Massachusetts Dem ocratic Convention in West Springfield were disappointed when Teddy Kennedy's telephoned voice from Washington came over the public-address system. Teddy had planned to be on hand to accept his Senate renomination by acclamation. But now, because of the vote on the civil rights bill, he would be delayed. So would Indiana's Senator Birch Bayh, who was scheduled to be the convention keynote speaker. "I want every one to know that I am a candidate this next year, even though I'm hundreds of miles away," said Teddy. "We are now 15 minutes away from the vote for civil rights."
That was after 7 p.m. Only one hour later, on a sultry Washington evening, Teddy, 32, his aide Edward Moss, 41, Bayh, 36, and his wife Marvella, 31, climbed aboard a twin-engine Aero Commander at National Airport. The chartered plane, frequently used by Senator Kennedy, was piloted by Edwin T. Zimny, 48.
The Apple Orchard. When they took off from Washington, the skies were clear. But warnings of heavy weather to the north had already been posted. Their destination was Barnes Municipal Airport, Westfield, Mass., about seven miles west of Springfield. There, fog and drizzle had socked in the runways.
Approaching Barnes, the pilot was flying on instruments. At about 11 p.m., he told the tower that he was "over the 'Z' "—exactly on course. Looking out of the plane's windows, the passengers could see a few fog-blurred car lights, knew they were nearly on the ground.
Suddenly the plane soared into a steep, desperate climb, shook violently, plunged and crashed. There was a moment of deep, terrifying silence: everyone aboard was stunned or dying. Birch Bayh recovered before the others. "My first thought," he said later, "was that the plane had been hit by lightning." He looked cautiously about. "I saw black things outside my window," he recalled. In his shock, it took him a while to notice the black things were trees, that the Aero Commander had crashed—as it turned out, in an apple orchard on a hill three miles short of the airport.
Fearful that the wreckage would burst into flames, Bayh hurriedly boosted his wife through an escape hatch, which popped open on impact. Then he called for Teddy, who was crumpled on the floor. Bayh got no answer and climbed out the hatch himself. Again, he yelled to Teddy. This time Kennedy answered, managed to reach his hand through the hatch, and Bayh helped him wriggle through the window. Moss and Pilot Zimny—both horribly injured—were trapped in the cockpit, which had been sliced apart as if by a huge can opener.
On the Wet Grass. Teddy lay helplessly on the wet grass, beneath Mrs. Bayh's raincoat. The Bayhs staggered down the hill to a road, stopped a car driven by Robert Schauer, who had been attracted by the sound of the crash. He took them to his home, called the police, returned immediately with a pillow and blankets for Teddy. Said Schauer: "When I got to the plane, Senator Kennedy was still there. He was cool as a cucumber. He said he had shoulder and back injuries."