Saint Louis

The twin engine aircraft was performing an executive flight from Chicago to Saint Louis, carrying two members of the board of Fairbanks-Morse & Company and two pilots. En route, the crew encountered technical problems with an engine and reduced his altitude in an attempt to make an emergency landing. Unfortunately, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in flames in a cornfield located 1 mile west of Roanoke. Both pilots Jack Hadden and Elmer West and the passenger Charles H. Morse III were killed while the second passenger W. E. Watson was injured.

Aircraft NC 22077 departed from Providence, Rhode Island, for White Plains, New York, at about 0730 March 19, 1948. The aircraft carried the pilot, Herman F. Burlingame III, his wife Ruth L. Burlingame, their infant daughter Kathleen, and George H. Armitage, as well as four Chow dogs and personal baggage. Arriving at Westchester Airport, White Plains, one hour and 20 minutes later, aircraft NC22077 was serviced with 118 gallons of fuel. At 0935 the aircraft departed from White Plains, the pilot telling airport officials that he intended to fly either to Hadley Field, New Brunswick, New Jersey, or Solberg-Hunterdon Airport, White House, New Jersey. Two hours and 31 minutes later the aircraft returned to White Plains, Mr. Burlingame telling airport officials that he had not landed at either of the alternative destinations. The aircraft was parked for the night, after being serviced with 85 gallons of fuel. The following morning, March 20, 1948, at 0550 the flight departed from White Plains for St. Louis, Missouri. The aircraft carried an additional four persons who had joined the original group at White Plains. The take-off weight could not be precisely determined, but it was close to the maximum allowable. No flight plan was filed with CAA Airways Traffic Control, and though NC22077 was equipped with two-way radio, no transmissions were received from the flight after its departure from White Plains. Consequently the exact route over which the flight proceeded is not known. Shortly after 0800, witnesses in the vicinity of the west portal of the Laurel Hill Tunnel of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, approximately 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, observed an aircraft flying at a low altitude on a northwesterly heading. It was flying in and out of low-hanging cloud fringes, and therefore, was not continuously visible. However, the aircraft was observed to approach the tunnel, circle in front of the portal, and then disappear into the overcast. After losing sight of the aircraft, some of the witnesses stated that they heard a surge of engine power, followed by the sound of a crash. Others, more distant, noticed that sound from the aircraft ceased abruptly. Since no other aircraft was observed in the vicinity at that time, there is no doubt but what it was NC22077 that these witnesses saw.

Enroute from Flint to Saint Louis on a cargo flight, the crew encountered poor weather with low visibility and severe icing conditions. The crew informed ATC about his situation and lost control of the aircraft that crashed in a prairie. The aircraft was destroyed and both crewmen were killed.

Crashed on take off from Saint Louis-Lambert Airport and destroyed by fire. Crew fate remains unknown.

En route from St Louis to Pensacola, while cruising over Mississippi, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with thunderstorm activity. The pilot lost control of the airplane that crashed near Bay Springs. All four crew members were killed.

En route from Augusta to St Louis, the single engine airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in a field, bursting into flames. All four occupants were killed.

Shortly after takeoff from St Louis Airport, while climbing to a height of 1,000 feet, a propeller blade detached then the engine separated. The pilot bailed out and abandoned the airplane that entered a dive and crashed in a field. The pilot was uninjured.

While on a night mail flight from Saint Louis to Evansville, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls. He attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in a field located in Centralia. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.