Note that the whereabouts of DB Cooper on these dates is unaccounted for. During this period an underwater television camera was lowered twice on the contact from the VIGOR but only marine life was observed. https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Aviation_Accident_Report:_National_Airlines_Flight_967&oldid=9238655. Turska also gave wildly conflicting accounts of his involvement in the affair. National Airlines Flight967, a DC-7B, N4891C, crashed in the Gulf of Mexico while en route from Tampa, Florida, to New Orleans, Louisiana, on .mw-parser-output .nowrap,.mw-parser-output .nowrap a:before,.mw-parser-output .nowrap .selflink:before{white-space:nowrap}November 16, 1959, about 0055c.s.t. A massive search began. National Airlines Flight 2511, registration N8225H, was a Douglas DC-6B aircraft which exploded over Bolivia, North Carolina en route from New York International (Idlewild) Airport, New York City, New York, to Miami, Florida on January 6, 1960.All 34 on board were killed in the accident. Who hatched the plot--Spears? Comprehensive flight tracking to enhance your FBO operations and increase sales. Despite these strange details, Mrs Taylor stuck to her story--her ex-husband had been hypnotized. What a tangled web. "[citation needed]. A strong sharp contact, definitely bottom and metallic, was made at position 2911.6'N, 8838.2'W at a depth of 245feet. [2] There was no evidence of any connection between Spears and the accident. 8839'W on March 11, 1960, but the XN3 TV camera revealed it to be marine wreckage. The main section of the wreckage has never been found despite the efforts of Navy and Coast Guard divers. United Airlines Flight 718, a DC-7, collided over the Grand Canyon with TWA Flight 2, an L-1049 Super Constellation, . Bombs Indicated in Two Air Disasters Monday, Dec 2 2013 . Mr Frank? Unfortunately, these searches were not successful. The first, at Dauphin Island, near Mobile, Alabama, reported that Flight967 continued on flight plan course during the entire time it was under their surveillance. Great write up! A B D Yes, they help protect natural wonders No, the National Park Service is a waste of federal funding Yes, national parks provided recreational activities and environmental education No, national parks should return the land to indigenous Americans She contacted his work--they knew nothing. A FedEx plane was only about 150 feet off the ground when its pilots realized a Southwest jet was in the process of taking off on the same runway, and aborted its landing to avoid a potentially . Citing reports that Spears may have gone to Yuma while hiding out in Arizona, Logan notes, At that time the long US-Mexico border to the west and south of Yuma was largely unpatrolled.. These charts have been preserved for possible future use. He had become financially successful in Texas as a . Flight Departure Times. That was before Spears was found in Arizona with Taylors car. While spiralling, radio contact was established with Coast Guard aircraft although no direct contact was possible with Coast Guard surface vessels due to the lack of compatible radio frequencies. The FBI, while stopping short of the Svengali hypothesis, acknowledged that "Spears may have had someone travel for him to collect a large insurance policy for the benefit of his young wife". As he said in a recent interview: "The more that I learned through the research about Spears, even though this guy had an incredibly profound criminal past [] he never had any history of violence at all. National Airlines Flight 967, registration N4891C, was a Douglas DC-7B aircraft that disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico en route from Tampa, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana on November 16, 1959. Weather conditions in the area were poor, which meant that the crew had . After this case, planes continued to disintegrate in flight due to explosive decompression. - October 5, 1945, a Lockheed Lodestar crashed into a lake in Lakeland, Florida with two fatalities. For 3-1/2 to 4minutes the flight continued on a normal track of approximately 296 degrees magnetic. [] The final ruling was probable severe turbulence.. saw an unusual light in the sky [] in the general direction of where [the flight] was lost and at about the time it was lost [] the light was red or dark red, appearing suddenly, lasting a couple of seconds then producing a vertical white light which fell with a white trail [] the initial red flash was almost as big as the sun. Back then, you could get on a plane, put something in the luggage rack, and then right before take off say "Excuse me, is this the plane to Dallas? At this time the flight also contacted New Orleans company radio confirming the ATC clearance and reporting the weather to be CAVU with low solid (undercast) to the WNW. * Douglas DC-6B Track American Airlines (AA) #967 flight from Austin-Bergstrom Intl to Dallas-Fort Worth Intl. With this information, Mrs Taylor's lawyer called the Tampa police department and the newspapers. Mrs Taylor recalled that Dr Spears had held an unnatural sway over her former husband. At that time there was also very little airport security. . Mrs Spears said that when he came to see her, Spears was sad about Taylors death. Taylor? All 42 occupants perished. "Turska was the one to fear, not Bob, Mrs Spears once said. The tower is about 30 miles west of the crash site. Playing upon people's uncertainties about air-travel, insurance companies did quite well off them. He also cites the testimony of Spearss wife, neighbors and friends who spoke of him as a lovely person and a gentleman and expressed utter disbelief that he would be capable of doing something so heinous as taking down a passenger aircraft. [] for all those decades and all the different things they got up to. At Miami, National Airlines prepared one of its Convair aircraft, which left for the area at 0545 under the command of the company's chief pilot. Coast Guard and civil surface craft immediately searched the area exhaustively and retrieved everything sighted. If the plane had any larger parts recoverable, they might have been able to tell if dynamite was the cause by examining residues or scorch marks. Flight data API with on-demand flight status and flight tracking data. The Coastguardsman on duty saw an unusual light in the sky at an angle which he estimated as about 15 degrees above the horizontal and in the general direction of where N4891C was lost and at about the time it was lost. But where had he been? The search was resumed on November 26, 1959, to the south and west of the previous area based upon drift studies of recovered debris. [Note: this post is largely based on information from Self-Styled: Chasing Dr Robert Vernon Spears by Alan C. Logan. Two more liferafts were soon seen in a similar condiiton. 2913'N. His wife would then cash in an insurance policy for $100,000 on Spears' life. In the postwar era, its fleet consisted of the: * Convair CV-340 It had his signature on it. All 42 occupants perished. They had been divorced longer than she claimed, and the divorce had been far from amicable. It's possible it was not a direct flight, and the next leg would have been from NO to Dallas. Geo resource failed to load. The unplanned water landing caught everyone . aviation industry. IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, NOVEMBER 16, 1959. - November 3, 1973, a DC-10 had an uncontained failure of Engine #3, as a result of flight crew experimentation, shrapnel penetrated other engines and fuselage, broke window, 1 seat-belted passenger was forced from the plane and killed. The ultimate flight tracking suite for small aircraft/general aviation (GA) owners and operators. 65 years old at the time of the crash, he had been the national secretary of the National Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the head of the Texas Naturopath Association. A tragic accident due to some unforeseen mechanical malfunction or even pilot error? Initially, there was some speculation based on the fact that a noted Chicago mobster--Ellis Itchy Mandel--was on the flight. At that time the control tower at Moisant reported a ceiling of 1,200 feet with three-fourths of a mile visibility, light fog and rain. On October 5, 1945 National Airlines Flight 16, a Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar (registered NC18199) crashed into a lake near Lakeland, . 967. It was founded in 1934 as a Florida-based airline. Yet cracks soon appeared in this image too. Grapples were used and a variety of objects were recovered but none could be related to the aircraft. Contact Us. Due to lack of evidence, however, Spears was never charged with any offense in relation to the Flight 967 crash. National Airlines Flight 967 of November 15, 1959, was scheduled between Miami, Florida, and New Orleans, Louisiana, with a stop at Tampa, Florida. That crash remains officially unexplained also. Many sonar contacts were obtained by both ships but all were evaluated as marine life. The weather conditions were good. According to Alan C. Logans book, Taylor had also met with Frank in New York (though Logan does not explain why). He had become financially successful in Texas as a naturopath, even becoming president of the Texas Naturopath Association in 1954. If he were not, I don't know anything I could do about it. [Here she began choking back tears] "I know one thing, we had planned on celebrating my son's birthday and we had bigger plans for Christmas. Nothing unusual was observed and no other objects were observed in the vicinity of the flight which indicated to the station that any difficulty was being encountered. He asked her not to tell Junior this. I cant believe I dont remember the name but the one where the guy hijacked the plane and parachuted out over Washington state? National Airlines Flight 967 took off from Tampa (TPA) at 23:32 for a flight to New Orleans (MSY) at FL140. Round-trip. The aircraft was airworthy at the time of departure, the crew was competent, weather conditions were good, and when disaster struck, the flight was very close to being both on course and on schedule. Please note . Pertinent details are: William Allen Taylor, of Tampa, Florida, disappeared November 15, 1959, after telephoning his employer he would be late for work. Add hotel. Note the use of the word accident, which is used throughout the report. Taylor's not going to let himself get talked into something as crazy as getting on a plane that's about to blow up. Delta Air Lines was scheduled to operate the flight between New Orleans, and its next stop, Dallas, TX, where American Airlines was to take over and operate the same aircraft from Dallas nonstop to Los Angeles. Track planes in real-time on our flight tracker map and get up-to-date flight status & airport information. Length approx. Join to view profile. On November 16, 1959, an airplane vanished over the Gulf of Mexico, with 42 people onboard. Thats another good one if youre not already familiar with it. * Douglas DC-6 All 42 on board were presumed killed in the incident. [citation needed], Spears was eventually arrested in Phoenix after being turned in by the ex-wife a fellow naturopath in Arizona. Or was it all a freak accident? BITTERN searched separate areas using Navy sonar. [] Then you also have to think about the fact that Al Taylor was his friend since 1928. and Long. A few moments before the departure of Flight967 from Tampa, Taylor purchased a flight insurance policy in the amount of $37,500 from a coin-operated machine at Tampa International Airport making his son the beneficiary and showing his destination as Dallas, Texas. Consultative detailed and customized flight tracking data reports. Long read, but totally worth it! Braniff International Airways Flight 542, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, registration N9705C, was a scheduled domestic flight from Houston, Texas, bound for New York with scheduled stops in Dallas and Washington, D.C. On September 29, 1959, 23 minutes into the 41-minute flight from Houston to Dallas Love Field, the aircraft disintegrated in mid-air approximately 3.8 miles (6.1 km) southeast of . It was determined that Taylor had boarded the flight using a ticket issued for Spears. (These bearings could be duplicated at low altitude; the VOR bearings could not be, due to line-of-sight limitations.). Frank E. Todd of Miami, the pilot, radioed his last message at 12:44a.m. The BITTERN obtained four separate bottom contacts at Lat. PROBABLE CAUSE: "Because of the lack of physical evidence, the probable cause of this accident is unknown. He had "an uncanny ability to move on at a moment's notice". The last radio contact with the flight was at 12:44 AM, when the flight contacted company radio in New Orleans. Without an aircraft, this was no easy task. Spears said: If the business did detonate during the flight, it had to be by accident [] Im still of the opinion that the plane--something else happened to it. On January 6, 1960 (less than two months after Flight 967) Frank was on board a National Airlines flight which was blown up by dynamite over North Carolina, resulting in 34 deaths. After several decades of false names, new identities, fresh starts, abandoned wives, abandoned lives--he had spent the last years running "a lucrative underground abortion business". Curiously, Al Taylor had recently been reported missing. In the investigation of the January 6 crash of a National Airlines DC-6B, agents are inquiring into indications that a lawyer, Mr. Julian Frank, might have blown up the plane killing himself and 33 . I don't think Dr. Spears nor Taylor planned it/caused it, but Spears decided to take advantage of it after hearing what had happened. Science Earth Science Question 5 Should national parks be preserved? The 36 passengers and six crew aboard Flight 967 from Tampa to New Orleans died in the accident 35.6 mi (57.3 km) off the coast of Pilottown, Louisiana. Feb 2023 - Present2 months. Another friend of Taylor reportedly told police that he had seen Al Taylor on Christmas Eve, 1959, in a crowd of Christmas shoppers in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank you for the great write-up. He needed to get the dynamite from Tulsa to Dallas. Spears said Taylor was going to fly to Dallas and that he would drive the car, but flight 967 was going to New Orleans not Dallas? I loathed him, she said, and had always considered him a bad influence on Al. All 42 on board were presumed killed in the incident. Post-mortem examinations of the nine bodies, all of which were identified by fingerprints, indicated that all had received traumatic injuries. The National crew consisted of Captain Frank Eugene Todd, Copilot Dick . The National plane was then spiralled in a climbing turn to 7,000feet in order to obtain VOR bearings for this position. Over the course of their long friendship, Spears and Taylor had worked together on confidence schemes throughout the USA. His wife, who had recently given birth to twins, even collected a partial payout from his $120,000 life insurance policy. He planned to intimidate the witness in that case somehow with a bomb (not to kill her but to intimidate her). If it had been, I doubt there would be much mystery as to what happened. It'd make him look suspicious, even if it was the honest truth. In fact, Turska had also been facing abortion charges in November 1959 (though Turskas charges were later dropped). Flight status, tracking, and historical data for N967WN 02-Mar-2023 (KPVD-KDCA) including scheduled, estimated, and actual departure and arrival times. The inertia of the bodies was plainly downward and forward and the forces at impact were severe. All times herein are Central Standard based on the 24-hour clock. Who knows, Taylor might show up one day, alive and healthy. This aircraft was flown to Tampa then out the NL route toward New Orleans to the position of 2913'N, 8840'W, at an altitude of 14,000feet. Call 1-650-967-2500 for Cirrus purchase and training assistance, or to take my online seminar: So You Wa . Goodness, I'm on the wrong plane!" In that interview, Turska said he now thought Spears had been lying to hm, and implied Spears's wife was in on the whole scam--accusing her of faking her reaction to seeing him. Economy. The evening started as any other at an airport terminal as 105 were set board their National Flight 601 from New York bound for Miami on a Boeing 707. 14 relations. [1] November 16 National Airlines Flight 967, a Douglas DC-7B, crashes in the Gulf of Mexico with the loss of all 42 people on board . Divers established that the contact was a sunken ship. A theory also emerged that Spears was connected to another unexplained air disaster just months later. Logan asks a number of questions--whether Taylor could have planned a murder-suicide without Spearss knowledge, whether Taylor boarded the flight at all, whether the last-minute insurance policy was an intentional red herring to throw off investigators and utterly confuse everyone? A Spirit Airlines flight from Dallas to Orlando was diverted to an airport in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, March 2, 2023, after a battery from a passenger's item caught fire in an overhead bin . According to Logans book, Mrs Taylor was media savvy, and exaggerated her closeness with Taylor before his disappearance. I was kind of expecting to hear Spears was somehow involved in JFK's assassination. 03 hrs 40 mins . I am quite sure that Taylor would not have exploded it.. ASSURANCE and the U.S.S. News Stories American Airlines to start hiring pilots again Southwest To Recall Pilots And Flight . He moved to California and took up hypnotism, his business was with a doctor performing abortions (which were then illegal in the U.S.). Flight 967 (1959) Flight 2511 (1960) Flight 27 (1973) Flight 193 (1978) Category. Yeah, it's kinda sad (and annoying) that such a good read isn't inspiring much in the way of discussion hardly at all. Among the 42 names of the dead--there was a passenger named Dr Robert Vernon Spears--a distinguished naturopath from Dallas, Texas. No severe weather was forecast, anticipated or reported at flight altitudes over the route. When she read that Dr Robert Spears had been a victim of the air disaster, she became even more curious. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. However, the Clearfield, Pennsylvania, Progress speculated in its Nov. 17, 1959, edition that the aircraft may have been brought down by a bomb: "Was there an explosion aboard the National Airlines DC-7B liner that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico Monday with 42 persons aboard? We work hard to keep our advertising relevant and unobtrusive to create a great experience. One of these was not aboard, although a final passenger count showed 36passengers upon departure from Tampa. According to the hotel staff, Taylor was talking about boarding a flight to Dallas--the waitress specifically remembered making small talk about Dallas. Although sabotage was suspected, no definite cause of the crash was determined . Accident; Date: November 16, 1959: Summary: In-flight explosion (Bombing suspected, but not proven) Site: Gulf of Mexico National Airlines merged with Pan Am in 1980. The aircraft being used this particular day was a Delta Air Lines DC-7B. ", Tampa International Airport, FL (TPA/KTPA), New Orleans International Airport, LA (MSY/KMSY), Accident investigation report completed and information captured, 57 km (35.6 mls) E off Pilottown, LA [Gulf of Mexico] (. Revenue passenger traffic in millions of passenger-miles However, there was ample fuel to have proceeded to the flight's planned alternate or to Dallas, the next en route stop. It appeared that the oil was rising from the northernmost point of this oil slick. On November 16, 1959, an airplane vanished over the Gulf of Mexico, with 42 people onboard. After forging several checks, he had skipped town and completely abandoned his first family. We have been unable to find any such relationship. I have not yet been back in that direction, but in my few decades of air travel, every flight to Tampa meant a stop in Houston before moving on, and the same can be said for the return flight. At the heart of the book is the crash of National Airlines Flight 967, which plunged into the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 16, 1959. 2910'N, and Long. Flight status, tracking, and historical data for American Airlines 967 (AA967/AAL967) including scheduled, estimated, and actual departure and arrival times. She was an unflappable woman in her late fifties, with a fondness for ostentatious feathered hats, pearl necklaces, and large brooches. Sun 4/2. Tampa Police Detective John C. Daniels was among those who did not buy the hypnosis theory: Taylor was in debt over his head. [4], Spears died in Dallas, Texas on May 2, 1969, of coronary thrombosis. We partner with our EMS and hospital customers to solve the challenges of patient logistics and save lives. The main wreckage has not been located . Taylor apparently agreed to this, and boarded the flight that night with nothing more than a briefcase containing the dynamite. According to Junior, Taylor was carrying over $600 in cash--a lot of money at the time, especially for a man in serious debt. Some small quantity of clothing and other personal effects and several mail bags were also found. The flight had been on its way from Tampa, Florida, to New Orleans. . * Lockheed Super H Constellation He was charged with unlawful possession of an automobile but due to lack of evidence was never charged in the alleged bombing of Flight 967. Taylor would fly and Spears would drive. Compare airfares and book tickets with lowest price on different airlines in real time 24 hours. The day before the fateful flight, Taylor had visited his ex-wife Alice Steel Taylor at her home, looking for their adult son Junior, who wasnt home. (If any were available prior to my introduction to flying, though, I can't be sure.) Very interesting story, indeed. Forty-two people were on board, and less than 1% of the wreckage was recovered. There injuries indicated that all nine persons had been seated at the time the aircraft struck the water. None of this disclosed conclusive evidence as to the genesis of the accident. He had hypnotized his own wife for the births of their children. and then hurry away, accidentally forgetting your luggage. The FBI's FOIA Library contains many files of public interest and historical value. James L. Sigman, executive officer of the Coast Guard station at New Orleans, said the plane might have exploded when it struck the water. If you have a couple of minutes, we'd like to collect your feedback on it. The prosecutor in Spearss abortion case pointed out they already had sworn affidavits from the abortion witnesses, which they could simply have read out in court. Shortly thereafter a Coast Guard helicopter arrived. No seat belt abrasions were found. Logan says Taylors ex-wife was media-savvy--and points out that she had a potential financial motive to portray Taylor as an unwitting passenger on that flight. National Airlines flight 193 lies partially submerged in the shallow waters of Escambia Bay in Pensacola. One passenger, William Taylor, had boarded the flight using a ticket issued to Robert Vernon Spears, a convicted criminal working at the time as a naturopath. From March3 through13,1960, the U.S.S. Franks body was found with injuries significantly different from and much more extensive than the other passengers, injuries which were inconsistent with the type of injury usually incurred in an aircraft accident. The cause was suspected to have been an attempted case of Insurance fraud; . The two had met in the Missouri State Penitentiary, back when Taylor was still known as Albert O. Thompson. The aircraft was a DC-7, N4891C, owned by Delta Air Lines and operated by National under an equipment interchange agreement. Summary 185 Max talks about columnist Martha Lunken's flight under a bridge, which led to the revocation of her certificates. Air Methods. Search and rescue aircraft spotted scattered debris and a number of bodies in the vicinity of the last radar return, about 35 miles east of Pilottown, Louisiana; the remains of 10 individuals were eventually located. 0 bags. You can help us keep FlightAware free by allowing ads from FlightAware.com. The U.S.S. National Airlines Flight 967, a DC-7B on a flight from Tampa, Florida to New Orleans, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. * Douglas DC-10-10/30, AviationExplorer.com - The Website For Aviation Enthusiasts, NATIONAL AIRLINES HISTORY FACTS AND PICTURES, Aviation Military and Police Phonetic Alphabet, NTSB Aviation Accidents From Last 10 Years, High Resolution Military Aviation Desktop Wallpapers. Thats not necessarily so. Clearly in shock, she turned to the reporter and said: "What can I say? There was no radio message of impending trouble. A reporter happened to be in her home at the time. I want to mention one thing; you are a class act for the ending. Of all the prison terms he served, he never had a single infraction of violence. She later determined that Taylors brown jacket was missing from his apartment, though everything else seemed untouched, just as if he had stepped out to buy a newspaper. I can understand him taking out an insurance policy. but he would have had to have done some rushing to get aboard the plane because it taxied away at 12:25 am. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Details of accident. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. To qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, at least one of these must be true: You served at least 36 months on active duty (either all at once or with breaks in service) and were honorably discharged, or. From March16 through25,1960, the VITAL and the BITTERN continued searching in other areas and many botton contacts were obtained but none proved to be aircraft wreckage. I told him it wouldn't work!". Planes, especially larger passenger ones, were still fairly new back then-- they were still figuring out the kinks. 432 in 1951, 905 in 1955, 1041 in 1960, 2663 in 1965, 2643 in 1970, 3865 in 1975. When Spears met secretly with his wife on January 7, he had reportedly given her the same story. November 10 of 1958, National became the first airline to introduce domestic jet service in the United States, with a flight between Miami 's international airport and Idlewild International Airport in New York. Robert Vernon Spears (June 26, 1894 May 2, 1969) was a naturopath who is alleged to have placed a bomb aboard National Airlines Flight 967, an aircraft that went missing over the Gulf of Mexico on November 16, 1959, killing 42 people. It was also convenient for National Airlines. Acknowledging "there is little or no physical evidence on which to explain this accident", the CAB was forced to conclude, after nearly three years of investigation: Because of lack of physical evidence, the probable cause of this accident is unknown. Meanwhile she campaigned in the courts to have him declared legally dead (which would give her son access to the life insurance money).