| Noteringar |
- Han tjänstgjorde i 2:a världskriget
- 34 KILLED WHEN MIAMI-BOUND AIRLINER CRASHES IN WOODLANDS NEAR WILMINGTON.
EXPLOSION OF PLANE SUSPECTED.
Bolivia, N. C. (AP) -- A National Airlines night coach flying non-stop from New York to Miami crashed with 34 persons aboard before dawn today in swampy woodlands near here.
"There will not be any survivors," said Deputy Sheriff H. G. RATCLIFF.
Seventeen bodies had been recovered late this morning.
Reporters on the scene said the big plane appeared to have exploded in the air and debris and bodies were scattered over an area of 20 acres.
The four-engine ship, making one of two substitute flights carrying vacation-bound passengers originally booked on a cancelled jet flight, struck earth 2 1/2 miles southwest of Bolivia, a hamlet 25 miles southwest of Wilmington.
The other substitute plane, an Electra turbo-prop plane, reached Miami safely with 76 passengers and crew members.
The plane that crashed carried 29 passengers and a crew of five.
Its passengers included retired Navy Vice Adm. EDWARD ORRICK McDONNELL, who held a Congressional Medal of Honor and numerous other decorations for World War II service. He commanded an aircraft carrier in the Pacific.
Most of the passengers were Easterners, bound for vacations at Florida's sunny resorts.
The plane had been flying through rainy weather. The watch on the wrist of a crew member found in the cockpit was stopped at 2:45 a.m., indicating that the crash occurred some 14 minutes after the pilot reported in by radio. He indicated no trouble at that time. The possibility that passengers were aware of trouble before the crash was seen in the fact that several victims were clad in Mae West life preservers. The life preservers on some had been inflated. A piece of the wing and most of the ripped fuselage fell in a field, while the cockpit struck in woods 50 yards away.
The plane crashed on the small farm of RICHARD RANDOLPH. His wife, LETZIE, was awakened by the noise and she awakened her husband.
"We heard an engine going chug-a-chug," he said, "like it was cutting in and out. Then it sounded like tin doors and windows ripping off. Then there was a big boom like dynamite."
RANDOLPH arose and looked out the window. He could see nothing but a small flame which soon went out. He returned to bed.
Early this morning their small son, McArthur, went to the field to see what happened and found the plane. The Negro farmer drove to Bolivia, the nearest phone and an operator connected him with the New Hanover airport at Wilmington. He then waited in Bolivia until highway patrolmen arrived about 7:30 a.m. and guided them to the scene.
Emergency and rescue vehicles rushed to the scene. A light rain fell as rescuers searched for bodies. The FBI sent its special disaster squad to the scene. This was requested by CHARLES SHARP, National's vice president. The squad of three fingerprint experts has identified more than 80 per cent of the victims of airliner crashes it has investigated.
"We heard a loud noise about 2:40 a. m., that woke us up," said MRS. RUBY EDWARDS, Bolivia's postmistress. "And the first thing we thought of was a plane."
"The sound at first was sort of a 'poosh,' like it was coming down real fast. Then it sounded as if it was coming apart, and then there was a thud. It came down about half a mile from out home."
"When we found it hadn't been reported, we called the Wilmington Airport. We had looked out to see if there was a light or anything, but it was raining and real dense. We couldn't see anything."
A number of bodies lay among scattered luggage and pieces of the ship.
MRS. EDWARDS' husband, LESTER L. EDWARDS, a forest ranger, said it appeared to him that the plane might have exploded in flight. This opinion was shared also by DOYLE HOWARD, a reporter on the scene from the Wilmington News.
The giant night flying coach, a DC6B, was last heard from at 2:34 a.m. At that time the plane was just south of Wilmington when the pilot made a check.
The flight plane called for the plane to hug the coast on the leg from New York to Wilmington, then to swing out to sea for the overwater leg to Palm Beach. Weather conditions were to dictate when the plane was to turn over the Atlantic.
Clouds and rain lay in the plane's route as it passed Wilmington. But, said a spokesman, the big coach should have found clearing skies south of Wilmington. Airline officials said the ship had enough gasoline to remain aloft until 7:06 a.m. She was due at Miami at 4:36 a.m. It had left New York at 11:52 p.m.
Word that the plane was missing touched off a widespread search along the coast.
The Coast Guard put out seven aircraft and a number of surface vessels from Elizabeth City, N.C., Jacksonville and Miami. The Navy dispatched four vessels from Charleston, S.C., and four planes from Jacksonville.
Capt. C. H. RUDY, National's chief pilot, left Miami in a twin-engine Convair with a crew of eight in an apparent plan to trace northward over the DC6B's route.
A NAL plane, less than two months ago, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, killing 42 persons aboard. It was on a flight from Miami to New Orleans. Most of the bodies and wreckage remain unrecovered.
In New York, National Airlines said it had asked the FBI to send experts to Bolivia to speed identification of the victims.
The airline said it was making efforts to fly relatives of the victims to the scene this afternoon.
The plane was manned by a veteran crew.
Capt. DALE SOUTHARD, 46, the pilot, flew bombers for a ferry service during World War II. He was born in Nebo, Mo. R. L. HENTZEL, 32, co-pilot, came with NAL in 1954 after five years in the Air Force. He was a Cleveland, Ohio, native. R. R. HALLECKSON, 35, flight engineer, joined the company in May 1953. During World War II he served on B29 bombers. He was born in St. Paul, Minn.
IRLINE RELEASES LIST OF PASSENGERS.
Wilmington (AP) -- National Airlines issued this list of passengers aboard the plane which crashed today at Bolilvia:
MR. and MRS. EDWARD A. EDWARDS, of Forest Hills, Queens, N. Y.
R. FRIED, of 70 Riverside Drive, New York.
JULIAN K. FRANK, of Westport, Conn.
MR. and MRS. M. FINKELSTEIN, of 319 Sharpmack St., Philadelphia.
MR. and MRS. VICTOR H. KAY, 26 Bluebird Dr., Roslyn Heights, N. Y.
MR. and MRS. H. KELLAR, 1303 Avenue N., Brooklyn, N. Y.
MR. and MRS. KUNIN, Bridgepart, Conn.
DR. and MRS. A. LAWRENCE, Golden's Bride, N. Y.
MRS. PEARL MERRILL, 799 East 17th St., Brooklyn.
Vice Adm. EDWARD O. McDONELL, USN ret., of Mill Neck, N. Y., and Hobe Sound, Fla.
MRS. C. ORENSTEIN, New York.
EPHRAIN POLLO.
CARLOS RAMOS.
MRS. MARIA RODRIGUEZ.
MR. and MRS. I. RUBINSTEIN, New York.
J. RYAN, 18 Jefferson Ave., Rockville Centre, N. Y.
MR. and MRS. J. SCHINE, Bridgeport, Conn.
MR. and MRS. M. SILVER, Connecticut.
FRED Y. SWEETING, 18, of Port Washington, N. Y.
MISS M. WAINSTOCK.
The crew:
Capt. DALE SOUTHARD.
Co pilot R. L. HANTZELL.
Engineer ROBERT H. HALLECKSON.
Stewardess VALERY STUART, 40 Ranch Lane, Levittown, N. Y.
Stewardess MARILU ODELL, 212 South Orange Ave., South Orange, N. J.
Daily Times News Burlington North Carolina 1960-01-06
National Airlines Flight 2511 was a domestic passenger flight from New York City, New York to Miami, Florida that exploded in mid-air on January 6, 1960. The National Airlines Douglas DC-6 was carrying five crew members and 29 passengers, all of whom perished. The Civil Aeronautics Board investigation concluded that the plane was brought down by a dynamite bomb. No criminal charges were ever filed, nor was the blame for the bombing ever determined, though a suicide bombing is suspected. The investigation remains open today.
One of the victims was retired US Navy Vice Admiral Edward Orrick McDonnell, a Medal of Honor recipient and veteran of both World Wars.
National Airlines' New York-Miami route was usually flown by a Boeing 707[1] as Flight 601.[2] On January 5, 1960, the 707 aircraft scheduled to fly to Miami was grounded due to cracks that were discovered in the cockpit windshield.[1] The windshield replacement procedure would take eight hours to perform, so National Airlines transferred the passengers of Flight 601 to two prop liner aircraft it had in reserve.
Passengers were boarded on the two replacement planes on a first-come, first-served basis. 76 passengers boarded a Lockheed L-188 Electra. This aircraft flew to Miami and arrived safely.
The remaining 29 passengers boarded a Douglas DC-6B, which departed Idlewild Airport for Miami as Flight 2511.[1] They were accompanied by two stewardesses, pilot Dale Southard, co-pilot R.L. Hentzel, and flight engineer R.R. Halleckson.[7] The plane departed New York at 11:52 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive in Miami at 4:36 a.m. on January 6.
The Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that Flight 2511 was brought down by a dynamite explosion in the passenger cabin. The explosive charge was located "beneath the extreme right seat of seat row No. 7." The report also pointed out that Julian Frank was close to the explosion, though it assigned no blame to him.
The explosion occurred at approximately 2:33 a.m., significantly damaging the structural integrity of the aircraft and forcing it into a wide, right-hand turn. As it descended, it suffered an in-flight disintegration and crashed at 2:38 a.m.
- Läs mer:
https://historyofyesterday.com/mile-high-murder-mystery-the-bombing-of-flight-2511-23a46f3b0391
|
1925 - 1960 (34 år)
