Crash of a Lockheed 8F Altair in Osaka

Date & Time: Apr 12, 1937
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
J-BAMC
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
188
YOM:
1932
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot was sole on board this single engine aircraft that was carrying newspaper on behalf of the Japanese daily newspaper 'Mainichi Shinbun'. On final approach to Osaka Airport, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances. The pilot was injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a Lockheed 8C Sirius in Birmingham

Date & Time: Dec 24, 1935 at 0515 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
NC167W
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Jackson – Birmingham
MSN:
167
YOM:
1930
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot, sole on board, departed Jackson, Mississippi, on a cargo flight to Birmingham. On final approach at night, the engine failed. The airplane lost height, impacted trees and crashed short of runway. The pilot R. B. Reinhart was slightly injured and the airplane was damaged beyond repair. The cargo of Christmas mail was salvaged without damage.
Probable cause:
Engine failure on final approach.

Crash of a Lockheed 8D Altair off Aye Island: 2 killed

Date & Time: Nov 8, 1935
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
G-ADUS
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Lympne - Allahabad - Singapore - Sydney
MSN:
152
YOM:
1935
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith and his copilot John Thompson 'Tommy' Pethybridge were flying the aircraft named 'Lady Southern Cross' overnight from Allahabad, India, to Singapore, as part of their attempt to break the England-Australia speed record held by C. W. A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black, when they disappeared over the Andaman Sea in the early hours of 8 November 1935. Despite brave search for 74 hours over the Bay of Bengal by test pilot Eric Stanley Greenwood OBE, their bodies were never recovered. Eighteen months later, Burmese fishermen found an undercarriage leg and wheel (with its tyre still inflated) which had been washed ashore at Aye Island in the Gulf of Martaban, some three km off the southeast coastline of Burma, some 137 km south of Mottama (formerly known as Martaban). Lockheed confirmed the undercarriage leg to be from the 'Lady Southern Cross'. Botanists who examined the weeds clinging to the undercarriage leg estimated that the aircraft itself lies not far from the island at a depth of approximately 27 metres. The undercarriage leg is now on public display at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia.
Probable cause:
Due to lack of evidences, the cause of the accident could not be determined.

Crash of a Lockheed 8A Sirius in Rome: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 21, 1932 at 1505 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
HA-AAF
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Budapest – Rome
MSN:
166
YOM:
1930
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
On final approach to Rome-Urbe Airport, at a height of about 120 metres and at a distance of 800 metres from the runway threshold, the pilot completed a turn when he lost control of the airplane that crashed in a field, bursting into flames. The aircraft named 'Justice for Hungary' was destroyed and both aviators György Endresz (pilot) and Julius Bittay (mechanic) were killed.

Crash of a Lockheed 8 Altair Special off Kinsale

Date & Time: May 13, 1932
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
NC998Y
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Harbour Grace – Paris
MSN:
176
YOM:
1931
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot Lou Reichers departed Harbour Grace on a new record solo flight to Paris. While cruising over Ireland, he encountered an unexpected situation and was forced to ditch the airplane in the Bandon River off Kinsale, south Ireland. He was rescued by the crew of 'USS President Roosevelt' while the airplane sank and was lost.

Crash of a Lockheed 8A Sirius in Rodgers Dry Lake: 1 killed

Date & Time: May 26, 1930
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
NC14W
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Muroc - Muroc
MSN:
144
YOM:
1930
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The pilot William H. Catlin was conducting a local test flight on this Lockheed 8A Sirius on behalf of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. This was organized in order to prepare the next attempt of Harold Broomley to perform a nonstop north transpacific flight from Tacoma to Tokyo. In unknown circumstances, the single engine plane crashed in the Rodgers Dry Lake and was destroyed by impact forces. The pilot was seriously injured and died few hours later.

Crash of a Lockheed 8A Sirius in Roscommon: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 25, 1930
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
NC12W
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Roscommon - Roscommon
MSN:
142
YOM:
1930
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The pilot Herbert J. 'Hub' Fahy and his wife Claire flew a new Sirius to a small grass strip in Roscommon, Michigan, where they were to demonstrate the plane to a potential buyer, Cliff Durant, son of William Durant, founder of General Motors. The Fahys acted as sales agents for Lockheed and the deal was Durant agreed to buy the plane if Fahy could prove that the Sirius could land and takeoff safely from Durant’s personal strip. Herb and Claire got the plane on the ground without incident, but as they took off, one of the wheels of the Sirius hit a partially hidden stump, which flipped the plane over. According to reports in the Herald Tribune for April 26 and 28, 1930, Fahy suffered a fractured skull and a severe concussion while Claire survived uninjured. Rescuers had to cut away part of the plane's structure to extricate the fliers. Fahy was rushed to a local hospital where he died early on Sunday morning, April 27, 1930 without regaining consciousness. He was 33 years old.