Plane Crashes

 

1925

 

The first plane crash resulting in a fatality in Allegheny County seems to have been in 1925 (192508_34), when a U.S. Marine Corps flight flying recruiters back to Quantico, VA suffered engine trouble over Pittsburgh.  One of the aviators died from "burns of entire body following explosion of gasoline truck due to aeroplane falling to ground."  What is interesting is that the surviving aviator sent in a detailed affidavit insisting that the deceased's injuries were not fatal because he was able to walk away once his parachute was freed (it had caught on the wreckage).  Possibly the Marine Corps was worried that they would be held accountable for the accident.

 

 

1927

 

Today I came across a file about a pilot in a plane who died after falling 200 feet. His body was crushed. The crash occurred on August 27th, 1927 at Bettis Aeroplane Field in West Mifflin Twp. A few files later I came across the file of a man who was a passenger in the plane that died of traumatic head injuries two days after the crash occurred. It is interesting to see the first affects of "modern" air travel appearing in our files.  

 

SH 18 Sept 2007

 

I also came across a few "aeroplane" accidents in 1927.  The first involved a U.S. Air Mail plane that crashed at Bettis Field.  The other involved a pilot who made an emergency landing.  He was decapitated when his head got in the way of the propeller.  Other instances of airplane traffic in Pittsburgh are evident in the files.  In one such case a 9-year-old boy drowned in the Ohio River while trying to grab flyers dropped from a "flying machine".  Apparently there was a contest in which the person who delivered the flyer with the lucky number would win a prize. 

 

ZB 18 Sept 2007

 

 

1929

 

In June 1929 a military airplane crashed near Fox Chapel, killing the pilot and a bond salesman.  A man playing golf reported seeing the plane flying so low that he could read its license and model number (AC 21) as it did several loops and other "dangerous maneuvers" before nose diving into the ground from 3000 feet. 

 

ZB 27 Sept 2007

 

 

Since I noticed a couple of the crashes mentioned so far occurred at Bettis Air Field, I looked around and found a link with some information about it: http://www.15122.com/MTHS/NEWS/April2002newsletter.pdf

 

SH 27 Sept 2007

 

 

1930

 

A small engine personal plane owned and piloted by a young 26-year-old man crashed a short time after taking off from Mayer Field on a Pleasure Trip. The plane crashed between Squaw Run and Freeport Road, partially burying the engine in the ground. Many believe it must have been engine failure which caused the crash because the plane was only in the air for a short time. The pilot’s friend and co-pilot also died. In both of the men's coroner case files was a newspaper clipping of the accident with added pictures and more information surrounding the crash.

 

AS 03 Oct 2007 

 

 

1932

 

This was an interesting case that combined the dangers of airplanes and passenger stupidity.  It happened at the Municipal Airport in Mifflin Township (193211_17).  A plane had recently landed and the passengers were exiting.  It was a windy day, and the affidavits state that the passengers were warned to secure their hats as they were exiting.  One man did not do so, and a gust of wind took his hat.  He then chased after the hat and ran right into the spinning airplane propeller.  This decapitated the man and hurled his body several feet..  I am not certain, but the airport where this incident occurred could be today's Allegheny County Airport. 

 

MG 25 Oct 2007

 

 

One person died in a plane crash when the plane nosedived from about 300 feet.  It was a small plane with only one pilot and one passenger.  The pilot, an 18-year-old boy, died. The company who owned the plane was Curtiss-Wright Flying Services; the pilot was a junior member of the club.

 

JT 29 Oct 2007

 

 

1939

 

Cases 193912_269 and 193912-270 involved a plane crash at Mayer Field, Collier Township, PA.  The pilot was taking two men up on a brief sightseeing flight when the plane stalled during a climbing turn.  Both passengers, who were in the forward seat, died, but the pilot in the rear seat was only injured.  The Air Safety Board of the Civil Aeronautics Authority in Washington ruled the primary cause to be stalling during a climbing turn and the secondary cause to be "poor pilot technique" which is presumably the forerunner of today's "pilot error" cause for plane crashes.  The plane was a "Parks Model P2A" which the owner had bought used.  The owner had apparently asked the air field manager to fly the plane, and the air field manager was the pilot during this flight. 

 

The Parks Model P2A was a fixed wing single engine airplane with three seats. The Detroit Aircraft Corporation was a holding company that only existed between 1922 and 1931 (under the name Aircraft Development Corporation until 1929) and then went bankrupt, so the airplane was at least seven or eight years old.  Presumably the Parks means it was actually built by "Park's Air College and Affiliated Companies, Inc." 

 

BB 23 Oct 2007

 

 

 1946 

 

I discovered a plane crash which is rare where a 35-year-old man with three years’ flying experience crashed on Rt. 19 in Wexford.  The plane was carrying a passenger and the pilot.  The passenger lived but the pilot died. The passenger was recorded saying that all of a sudden the plane jerked and stalled, but he did not know why. I do not know what type of plane it was but it was a small one. 

 

CL 16 Nov 2007

 

 

1947

 

Three people died when the sea plane that they were flying crashed into two houses.  Their bodies were "burnt to a crisp".  The houses caught fire, which then spread to two other houses, creating 10,000 dollars worth of damage.  The people found in the plane were a married couple and a friend/ business partner of the husband.  The two men who owned the sea plane, a "cub super cruiser", were in the "plane passenger business at Conneaut Park". 194706_179-194706_181

 

JT 28 Nov 2007

 

 

1956

 

A lieutenant in the Air National Guard was leading a practice mission with four F84 fighter jets out of the Greater Pittsburgh Airport. His engine failed, and instead of bailing out and having the plane possibly crash into private homes, he decided to crash land in a field, which ended up taking his life. 195603_169

 

BF 18 Jan 2008

 

An Air Force trainer based out of Stewart AFB, NY crashed near Greater Pitt Airport.  The 54th Aeromedical Squadron, based at Greater Pitt and apart of the Air National Guard unit there, was called out to investigate and help out.  Both pilots ejected, but the parachute failed for one pilot, a major, and he fell to his death.  195608_55

 

MWB 22 Jan 2008

 

 

1957

 

The pilot of a converted P-38 aircraft nearly collided with a Lockheed Constellation passenger aircraft, but instead dove downward, lost control of the aircraft, and plunged 1700 feet into a ridge.  According to the report, there were two men in the P-38 at the time, but the bodies were so badly mangled that at first the coroner thought there was only one crewmember.  Considering that the Constellation was fully loaded with passengers at the time, this accident could have been much more tragic than it was, thanks to the pilot's quick thinking.  Witnesses also suspected that one of the engines stalling out contributed to the pilot losing control of the aircraft.  Oddly enough, the newspaper headline identified the aircraft as a jet, however the P-38 is a piston-engine aircraft, and to the best of my knowledge, no efforts were ever made to modify it with jet engines.  195710_38, 195710_40

 

MWB 24 Jan 2008

 

A Navy T-28 trainer aircraft, piloted by a Navy Reservist instructor pilot who had previously been home visiting his parents, crashed shortly after takeoff from Greater Pitt Airport.  The aircraft first struck the roofs of two houses, setting them on fire, then hitting a utility pole and skidding across a highway before coming to rest against the side of a barn.  All occupants of the houses escaped, and there were no other casualties besides that of the pilot, who was apparently enroute to his base in Alabama.  The coroner's jury verdict states that the pilot "Came to his death...from mangled body."  I found it interesting that the only test done was for carbon monoxide poisoning, which turned up negative.  Cause of the crash was ruled accidental.  Several newspaper clippings and pictures were included with this particular file.  195710_59

 

MWB 24 Jan 2008

 

 

1958

 

A plane had been flying passengers from a community picnic over the city of Pittsburgh all day; this was its last flight of the day. As the plane was making a right turn after take off, the right wing clipped a 40 foot tree and spun, crashing into a nearby forest, where it hit the ground and exploded into flames. Rescue crews had to cut their way into the forest to reach the plane. All three passengers, and the 33-year-old pilot died. 195809_139-195809_142

 

AP 08 Feb 2008

 

 

1959

 

A 24-year-old army flight instructor died when the single-engine plane he was flying crashed to the ground six minutes after he took off.  He was about two miles from the runway at the time of the crash.  Witnesses said they saw the tail assembly of the plane fly off just before the crash.  They also reported that they were unable to hear the sound of the engine, which had likely failed immediately after takeoff.  The young soldier was home on a three day pass and had rented the plane for the day.  195909_116

 

TG 11 Feb 2008

 

 

1961

 

On a snowy February night, a small plane crashed near Monroeville with three men from Montana aboard. It was coming from Chicago on its way to an airport near Monroeville. The pilot was bringing friends along with him to Pittsburgh to see old friends from the Sea Bees. A police officer witnessed the plane going down at a 60 degree angle, but since it was at night he could not really see what was going on. A wing was found a mile away from the wreckage of the plane, so it is possible that the wing fell off in flight. Also, the pilot had a .17% blood alcohol level, so that may have had something to do with it too. All three of the occupants’ bodies mutilated. A newspaper article later said that the friends who were going to meet the passengers had to come to the morgue to indentify the bodies. An article from a year later said that the widows of two of the men were suing the federal government because the airport tower had them possibly drop to a lower altitude where they possibly encountered bad weather conditions. 196102_139-196102_141

 

BF 24 Feb 2008 

 

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1962

 

Five men died in a plane crash. It was a National Guard plane, and the occupants were National Guardsmen out on a training flight. The engine appeared to have been overheated, and the pilot tried to make a crash landing in a field when it caught on fire. The men died from the crash itself, not from the engine fire. 196202_212-196202_216

 

LB 05 Mar 2008

 

 

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1971

 

Two men died in a plane accident when their plane ran out of gas. and they crashed into a house in Monroeville. No one in the house was injured. Unfortunately I could only find one of the decedent's case files- the other one did not appear in the box. 197110_20

 

LB 27 Mar 2008