GADSS-compliant global tracking and alerting for airlines and aircraft operators. Sun 4/9. Spears immediately said he had made the whole thing up after the reporter had pressured him to tell him something new. At its height, National Airlines had a network of "Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast" flights, linking Florida and the Gulf Coast with cities along the East Coast and large . It was then observed to turn right approximately 70 degrees and disappear from the scope at 0051 at Lat. Coast Guard and civil surface craft immediately searched the area exhaustively and retrieved everything sighted. Such a bummer. I can understand him taking out an insurance policy. This material totaled possibly less than one percent of all such material within the fuselage. 2918.5'N, Long. Join to view profile. . Alan C. Logan is among those who dismiss this second story as fiction. 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. 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. To have a definitive answer I would have to do research that I am far too tired for at the moment, but I wanted to relay what little information I could think of before I passed out and forgot to come back and do it. 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. Company calls to 967 continued without result for some time. Consultative detailed and customized flight tracking data reports. He heard about the Flight 967 disaster along the way, and although he was devastated to think his old pal had perished, Spears simply decided it was an opportunity for a fresh start.". We deliver industry-leading performance in safety, clinical quality, and patient advocacy, committing to zero balance bills. * 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. Recently, she said, Al Taylor had been strangely depressed and withdrawn, but his mood only lifted when he talked to Spears. He kept checking his watch, his ex-wife later said, and looked anxious to leave". Pertinent details are: William Allen Taylor, of Tampa, Florida, disappeared November 15, 1959, after telephoning his employer he would be late for work. . None of this disclosed conclusive evidence as to the genesis of the accident. 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. On the night of November 15, 1959, a DC-7 with forty-two persons aboard took off from Tampa International Airport on a regularly scheduled flight to New Orleans. I am quite sure that Taylor would not have exploded it.. ", Alan C. Logans book also cites a vague remark by Mr Turska that Spears was not alone when he showed up in Arizona after the crash. The flight had been on its way from Tampa, Florida, to New Orleans. According to the Nov. 17, 1959, edition of the New York Times, I. W. Dymond, vice president of operations for the airline, said the weather "was anticipated, but it was not a factor" in the crash. * Douglas DC-8-21/31/32/51/54/61 And just a freak coincidence that a couple of conmen just happened to have a ticket? It turned out he had a long criminal record--a string of confidence schemes, forgery, and thefts under a variety of aliases. 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. For 3-1/2 to 4minutes the flight continued on a normal track of approximately 296 degrees magnetic. He did not log the incident. This new story was made public in 1963. National Airlines Flight 967. It'd make him look suspicious, even if it was the honest truth. Associate Procurement Agent. As he was leaving the courthouse after his first hearing, he was observed to be whistling. Very interesting story, indeed. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. He planned to intimidate the witness in that case somehow with a bomb (not to kill her but to intimidate her). When the aircraft was destroyed, authorities would assume that Spears had himself been a victim and his wife would be able to collect on his life insurance. 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. 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. Tampa Police Detective John C. Daniels was among those who did not buy the hypnosis theory: Taylor was in debt over his head. She contacted his work--they knew nothing. He felt he had been a burden and it was a chance to free us of that burden.. Taylor? 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. These charts have been preserved for possible future use. Shortly thereafter a Coast Guard helicopter arrived. A Tanzanian airline said on Monday it will start flights to Zimbabwe in December, plying the Harare-Dar es Salaam route three times a week. This all changed two months after the crash, on January 20, 1960, when Robert Vernon Spears was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, in possession of a stolen car--a salmon-pink Plymouth. The passenger manifest for Tampa-New Orleans listed 36passengers. With more than 800 employees worldwide, the National Family offers rewarding opportunities for professional growth through our affiliate organizations National Air Cargo and National Airlines.We invite you to become a part of our award-winning team, and contribute to meaningful work in aviation, transportation, and global logistics. [] Both men were in the confidence rackets at one time. All 42 on board were presumed killed in the accident. Ronald Reagan National Airport. 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. 8839'W. DL967 Flight Tracker - Track the real-time flight status of Delta Air Lines DL 967 live using the FlightStats Global Flight Tracker. Suddenly his strange behavior all made sense to her--her hapless ex-husband was a puppet, under Dr Spearss spell. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. The flight's next radio contact was with FAA Pensacola radio at 0031 requesting clearance to New Orleans and reestimating NL1 at 0035. In compliance with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements, some of these records are no longer in the physical possession of the FBI, eliminating the FBI's capability to re-review and/or re-process this material. However, Taylor purchased life insurance in his own name at the airport before departure; when his ex-wife applied to collect, the substitution was discovered. It revealed that Al Taylor had bought a $37,500 life insurance policy-- in Tampa airport--at 12:16 am, just nine minutes before Flight 967 departed. Thats another good one if youre not already familiar with it. The flight had been on its way from Tampa, Florida, to New Orleans. 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". By all accounts, he was in financial difficulties, and had many debts. The cause was suspected to have been an attempted case of Insurance fraud; . A careful search was made for witnesses. We work hard to keep our advertising relevant and unobtrusive to create a great experience. I want to mention one thing; you are a class act for the ending. Adequate fuel, with reserve, was carried. But this investigation led nowhere. All 42 on board were presumed killed in the incident. The personal effects consisted of shoes, clothing, parts of leather suitcases and other traveling paraphernalia. The theory of a Svengalian puppet master was convenient not just for the former Mrs Taylor. * Douglas DC-7B The ultimate flight tracking suite for small aircraft/general aviation (GA) owners and operators. There she discovered a receipt addressed to their son Junior. * Lockheed L-188 Electra National Airlines Flight 967 of November 15, 1959, was scheduled between Miami, Florida, and New Orleans, Louisiana, with a stop at Tampa, Florida. Coscto also reported a Q2 net sales increase of 6.5%, to $54.24 . No seat belt abrasions were found. The theory arose that Spears, desperate to avoid trial and wanting a fresh start, had tricked Taylor (perhaps through hypnosis)[1] into boarding the aircraft with a piece of luggage containing a bomb; when the aircraft crashed, it would be assumed that Spears was on board. Spirit airlines began offering the direct flights in 2017. Spears had a long history of crime, having been arrested 17 times under 14 different aliases. * Douglas DC-6B He was "100 percent" certain it was Taylor, and when he called out "Hey Al" he said the man turned, but then hastily slipped away into the crowd. [citation needed], Spears was eventually arrested in Phoenix after being turned in by the ex-wife a fellow naturopath in Arizona. National Air Security Operation Center (NASOC) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Locations: (to include but not limited to the following locations) Sierra Vista, AZ; San Angelo, TX . On October 5, 1945 National Airlines Flight 16, a Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar (registered NC18199) crashed into a lake near Lakeland, . The crew consisted of Captain William R. Broocke (age 54), employed by National Airlines since 1946, who had qualified to fly the DC-10 in 1972 and accumulated 21,853 flight hours in his career with 801 hours on the DC-10; First Officer Edward H. Saunders (33), employed by National Airlines since 1965, with 7,086 flight hours of which 445 hours were on the DC-10; and Flight . Except for the land areas and coastal waters from Mobile westward, skies were virtually clear and visibility excellent. The position of 2913'N and 8840'W - at which the aircraft went off the military radar scope - was used as a focal point of search. As it turned out, William Turska was not a model citizen himself. 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 . All 42 on board were presumed killed in the incident. Down the rabbit hole I go. Flight status, tracking, and historical data for American Airlines 967 (AA967/AAL967) including scheduled, estimated, and actual departure and arrival times. Photographs depicted Dr Spears as a plump, jovial man--in a checkered suit and round spectacles, he embodied the image of a kindly family physician. Examination of the liferafts and lifevests indicated that they had not been used for their intended purposes or prepared for such use, and all damage had been accidental and random. With the time and funds available it was possible to cover only 29.75square miles of an area selected after an analysis of wind and current factors and the results of all previous searches. In fact, Turska had also been facing abortion charges in November 1959 (though Turskas charges were later dropped). He needed to get the dynamite from Tulsa to Dallas. PROBABLE CAUSE: "Because of the lack of physical evidence, the probable cause of this accident is unknown. Lowest fares guaranteed on flights from Dubai to Toronto by Skycraft Air Transport. The United States Fish and Wild Life, M/VOREGON, searched for 24hours on December14 and 15, 1959, dragging a 35foot wide net over the botton at a position centered around Lat. Spears disagreed with the characterization of himself as a sinister hypnotic puppetmaster. He heard no noise. [2] There was no evidence of any connection between Spears and the accident. There was no radio message of impending trouble. At 0034 the flight reported over NL1 at 0033 at 14,000feet, estimating New Orleans at 0119. If you have a couple of minutes, we'd like to collect your feedback on it. There were nine bodies, a portion of a tenth body, five liferafts, five lifevests, and a highly diversified quantity of buoyant debris entirely from within the cabin and baggage compartments directly below it. The aircraft was airworthy at the time of departure and had an adequate amount of fuel. This page was last edited on 5 May 2019, at 15:31. 8839'W on March 11, 1960, but the XN3 TV camera revealed it to be marine wreckage. Seattle, Washington, United States. In the weeks after the crash, the mystery of Flight 967 deepened. National Airlines merged with Pan Am in 1980. I'm from New Orleans and have flown to Tampa several times. He had become financially successful in Texas as a . This is the story Spears gave after his arrest: He said he had been in Tampa and was planning on heading back to Dallas on November 16. National Airlines Flight 967, registration N4891C, was a Douglas DC-7B aircraft which disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico en route from Tampa, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana on November 16, 1959. Logan points out that much of the public demonization of Spears resulted from the fact that he performed abortions--something that is viewed very differently in todays political discourse. However, Taylor himself purchased $37,500.00 worth of life insurance at the airport; when his ex-wife attempted to collect on that policy, authorities were notified. Personally I suspect that Logan has at least partially fallen prey to the charms of Dr Spears--I highly doubt Taylor is living it up in South America--but his questions are interesting ones. No? 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. After this case, planes continued to disintegrate in flight due to explosive decompression. Pensacola replied by delivering a clearance to Flight967, which stipulated that it was cleared from NL1 direct to the MSY (New Orleans) omni via the 116-degree radial, and to descend and maintain 6,000feet at the pilot's discretion. * Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar Predictive technology to strengthen customer trust in your operations. Taylor also wanted to go to Dallas, to see a doctor about a neck injury, and to get away from his irritating ex-wife. The 9 they found were likely ejected from the plane through a large opening during the deconpression, while the rest were blown to bits. FBI National Academy. 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. His wife, who had recently given birth to twins, even collected a partial payout from his $120,000 life insurance policy. and Long. In this case, the plane likely suffered the same fate. but he would have had to have done some rushing to get aboard the plane because it taxied away at 12:25 am. ASSURANCE and the U.S.S. EVERETT ENGERSOL, Evergreen Park, Illinois, PEDRO MARCO, arrived in Miami from Havana, A. VINAS, Havana and Loma Linda, California, The REV. National Airlines Flight 967 Latest Breaking News, Pictures, Videos, and Special Reports from The Economic Times. She told them all about her missing husband and his missing pink Plymouth, which sparked a nationwide search. None of these nine persons had been subjected to fire or smoke before death, as demonstrated by low carboxyhemoglobin levels in blood and tissue. (Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives) On the 8th of May 1978, a National Airlines Boeing 727 was on approach to Pensacola, Florida when it suddenly touched down in Escambia Bay amid heavy fog. Upon his arrest in Arizona, the FBI charged him with transporting a stolen vehicle beyond state lines. The aircraft being used this particular day was a Delta Air Lines DC-7B. The Flightpath. I think the plane crashing was more or less a red herring in this case. See if your flight has been delayed or cancelled and track the live position on a map. As has been detailed, the fire marks on bodies and on debris were of the type caused exclusively by a flash surface fire, probably both hot and brief, upon impact with the water. Without the planes black box, it is impossible to rule this out. He added that the passengers apparently had no warning to don lifebelts, as only one life preserver was found among the debris. He was cleared by the New Orleans Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC - ZNO) located in the terminal building at New Orleans Lakefront Airport to descend to and maintain 5,000 feet and to report leaving 8,000 feet. Spear's activities in order to determine whether they might have had a bearing upon the accident. So, I think he spun a couple different stories to see if any if them fit enough to get in the least amount of trouble. DC-7 [] Template . Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. Mr Taylor would need to have put just $1.50 into that machine to secure that $37,500 insurance policy (equivalent to more than $300,000 today).]. Mrs Taylor? Some of the bodies showed distinct evidence of burning on portions exposed above their waterlines. Start your trial now! Nothing. He reported a "smooth flight" and unlimited visibility, but said he could see a solid overcast of fog ahead. According to Logans book, Mrs Taylor was media savvy, and exaggerated her closeness with Taylor before his disappearance. According to Junior, Taylor was carrying over $600 in cash--a lot of money at the time, especially for a man in serious debt. The unplanned water landing caught everyone . We know he was at the airport that night, at 12:16 am. The aircraft remained unreported. He had actually been hiding out with an old associate named William Turska (also a naturopath), in Turskas remote bungalow in the desert 40 miles from Phoenix, Arizona. She put it bluntly to the Dallas Morning News: "I believe that Spears hypnotized [Taylor] into doing it.". Weather conditions in the area were poor, which meant that the crew had . November 5 After suffering an in-flight engine fire, the second North American X-15 (AF 56-6671), piloted by Scott Crossfield, breaks its Back making an emergency landing on Rosamond Dry Lake, California. Yeah, it's kinda sad (and annoying) that such a good read isn't inspiring much in the way of discussion hardly at all. National Airlines 19341980 "" 19701978 . Just in case you have yet to hear about it, I recommend you check out r/AdmiralCloudberg since you love aviation mysteries. The main wreckage has not been located despite several well planned searches. 2910'N, and Long. 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. Frank was covered by $900,000 in life insurance policies at the time of his death, and had also been under investigation for corruption. 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. IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, NOVEMBER 16, 1959. The company posted $1.027 billion in membership fee income compared to $967 million a year earlier, a $60 million increase, or 6.2%. Accident; Date: November 16, 1959: Summary: In-flight explosion (Bombing suspected, but not proven) Site: Gulf of Mexico Find cheap flights from Kathmandu to Yosemite National Park. Link. That was before Spears was found in Arizona with Taylors car. National Airlines operated the first two legs between Miami and Tampa, and Tampa and New Orleans. 16cm . First week only $4.99! Cheapest ticket price on Dubai to Toronto Skycraft Air Transport flight air ticket at MakeMyTrip UAE. James L. Sigman, executive officer of the Coast Guard station at New Orleans, said the plane might have exploded when it struck the water. Probably one of the most intriguing cases Ive read here, what a great write up OP! [1][2][3] In February 1960, Spears was convicted of interstate transportation of a stolen car (Taylor's Plymouth). According to the Senior Passenger Agent for National Airlines, there were no established procedures in 1959 for determining if a reporting passenger was the same person for whom the reservation was made. National Airlines Flight 967, registration 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. Departure from Tampa, with the same crew, was at 2332. Flight 967 (1959) Flight 2511 (1960) Flight 27 (1973) Flight 193 (1978) Category. Note the use of the word accident, which is used throughout the report. Air Methods. 2913'N. The last radar contact with the aircraft--made at 12:55 am, over the open sea--had indicated the plane was still on course to its destination at the time that it vanished. Air Methods is the most responsive and reliable provider of critical care transportation solutions. Investigation has disclosed certain details in regard to a last minute boarding of the aircraft at Tampa by a person using another person's ticket. [] The final ruling was probable severe turbulence.. That crash remains officially unexplained also. The aircraft was a DC-7, N4891C, owned by Delta Air Lines and operated by National under an equipment interchange agreement. 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. Alice Steel Taylor had long claimed that her ex-husband was nothing more than an unwitting puppet in Spearss schemes. This dialogue will close in 60 seconds or you can click the exit icon in the top right corner to go back to the flight map immediately. Aviation Accident Report: National Airlines Flight 967, Aviation Accident Report: National Airlines Flight 967 Report. When Spears met secretly with his wife on January 7, he had reportedly given her the same story. [Note: this post is largely based on information from Self-Styled: Chasing Dr Robert Vernon Spears by Alan C. Logan. 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. Nearly every comment is just a "great job, best ever", and nearly all of the questions posited have no answers or discussions below them. Spears had been in and out of jail in multiple states (even mistakenly deported to Canada on one occasion). The flight departed Miami at 2212[1] and landed at Tampa at 2300. I do think Taylor took Spears spot on the plane last minute (hence only the briefcase, no luggage), but I don't think Taylor nor Spears intended to blow up the plane. It is perhaps no coincidence that a PR man from National Airlines wrote a book in 1963 accusing Spears of being responsible for the crash. He was subsequently apprehended by Federal authorities in Phoenix, Arizona, for having unlawful possession of Mr. Taylor's vehicle. Contact Us. He moved to California and took up hypnotism, his business was with a doctor performing abortions (which were then illegal in the U.S.). Suicide by a passenger holding large life insurance policies was the probable cause. Great write up! 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. If Dr Spears was somehow responsible for both incidents, that would make him responsible for the loss of 76 lives, making him one of the most prolific killers in American history. But in 1957 he was expelled from the organization in a bribery scandal. Turska claimed at the time he did not even know about the airplane crash. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The main section of the wreckage has never been found despite the efforts of Navy and Coast Guard divers. That day the two men also reportedly met with a man they referred to in letters only as "the fellow". The FBI then tracked him down through surveillance. Explosive decompression makes a plane crash look like the plane was blown up with a large bomb, but minus any larger pieces of wreckage as well as explosive residue proving it. In fact, it was revealed that Spears was facing charges for performing abortions--which was illegal at the time, and had been set to stand trial on December 3, 1959. The autopsies of the bodies, all of which were identified by fingerprints, indicated that all had received traumatic injuries: injuries indicated that all nine persons had been seated at the time the aircraft struck the water. I think it's because "my friend took my ticket last minute under my name, but when I heard the plane exploded, i decided to duck out and start a new life because not only am i a con man, I was in big trouble for illegal abortions too" doesn't make for a convincing story. National Airlines was a United States airline that operated from 1934 to 1980. Track National Aeronautics and Space Administration #967 flight from Chennault Intl to Houston Ellington Flugstatus, Tracking und Flugverlaufsdaten fr National Aeronautics and Space Administration 967 (NASA967) 02.03.2023 (KCWF-KEFD) mit geplanten, geschtzten und tatschlichen Start- und Landezeiten This search was also unsuccessful. [] for all those decades and all the different things they got up to. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Search and rescue facilities were activated and the Coast Guard had search aircraft and surface craft in the suspect area before daylight. At 00:55 the aircraft suddenly crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Boeing 747-400BCF National Airlines N702CA Scale 1/400 XX4975. [5], "Con Man, Best Man, An Air Crash - A Far Out, Far Up Mystery", "Robert Spears, 1959 bomb suspect, dies in Dallas", Aviation Safety Network report on Flight 967, Civil Aeronautics Board Aircraft Accident Report on Flight 967, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Spears_(naturopath)&oldid=1106844718, This page was last edited on 26 August 2022, at 19:28. Save your money with discount and promotions and find the best deals on Trip.com!