Crash Victims Were Heroes, Reagan Says : President Assures Grieving Families, ‘We Mourn With You’

President Reagan today told grieving families, friends and comrades of the 248 American soldiers killed in a plane crash last week that “in life they were our heroes, in death our loved ones, our darlings.”

“The men and women we mourn today were peacemakers,” Reagan said.

The soldiers were coming home for Christmas after six months of peacekeeping duties in a multinational force in the Sinai when their Arrow Air DC-8 charter jet crashed on takeoff Thursday after a refueling stop in Gander, Newfoundland.

“We mourn with you,” Reagan told tearful family members at a memorial ceremony at the home of the 101st Airborne Division, known as the “Screaming Eagles.”

The brief ceremony in a drafty hangar began with the singing of “Amazing Grace” and concluded with “America the Beautiful.” Many in the audience sobbed throughout the ceremony.

Many Tears Shed

The President and his wife, Nancy, talked to and tried to comfort almost 300 relatives and friends of the victims after the ceremony. Many cried, and the Reagans embraced several. Mrs. Reagan brushed tears from her eyes.

As Reagan led the tribute, a Canadian-led team of investigators continued searching for clues to the cause of the crash, and pathologists at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Dover, Del., prepared for the grim task of performing autopsies.

The first remains were flown to Dover Air Force Base this afternoon in 10 flag-draped metal caskets aboard a C-141 Starlifter transport.

Takeoff Speed Normal

In Gander today, investigators said the DC-8 jet that crashed last week accelerated to a normal takeoff speed of 190 m.p.h. before losing power, veering to the right and plunging into trees at the end of the runway.

The flight data recorder on the Arrow Air jetliner stopped functioning after the plane crashed one minute and 40 seconds after receiving clearance to take off.

But an analysis of the instrument showed that the plane was traveling at 190 m.p.h. when it crashed, said Peter Boag, accident investigator for the Canadian Air Safety Board.

The recorder also showed that the plane veered 20 degrees to the right as it began to lose speed, Boag told reporters at a news conference.

“Certainly, at this stage it (the data) does not tell us the cause of the crash,” Boag said. “There is considerable more information to be gathered and analyzed as the investigation progresses.”