1936 — Jan 14, American Airlines DC-2 Trip 1 swampland crash, Goodwin, AR        –all 17

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-25-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–17  AP. “17 Killed in Goodwin, Ark., Plane Crash.” Fayetteville Daily Democrat, AR. 1-15-1936, p1.

–17  Aviation Safety Network. American Airlines crash, Goodwin AR, 14 January 1936.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network. American Airlines crash, Goodwin AR, 14 January 1936:

“Date:                          Tuesday 14 January 1936

“Time:                         19:32

“Type:                         Douglas DC-2-120

“Owner/operator:        American Airlines

“Registration:              NC14274

“MSN:                         1307

“Year of manufacture:            1934

“Fatalities:                   17 / Occupants: 17

“Other fatalities:         0

….

“Location:                   Goodwin, AR – USA

“Phase:                        En route

“Nature:                      Passenger – Scheduled

“Departure airport:      Memphis Municipal Airport, TN

“Destination airport:   Little Rock National Airport, AR

“Narrative:

 

“The DC-2 crashed into swampland near Goodwin, AR. The three crew (Capt. Marshall, co-pilot Greenland, stewardess Casparini) and the 14 passengers died. The aircraft broke up in the accident.

 

“The aircraft operated Trip 1, a service from Newark, NJ to Fort Worth, TX. En route stops were planned at Camden, NJ, Washington, DC, Nashville, TN, Memphis, TN, Little Rock, AR and Dallas, TX.

 

“Probable Cause: “Based on the knowledge or information in possession of this agency, it is the opinion of the Bureau of Air Commerce that, although flying at a low altitude may have contributed to the cause of this accident, the probable cause or causes thereof cannot be determined.””

Newspaper

 

Jan 25, AP: “By The Associated Press. Goodwin, Ark., Jan. 15 – (AP) – Remnants of 17 bodies – victims of America’s most disastrous airplane catastrophe – were recovered today from Arkansas marsh country where they crashed to death last night in ‘The Southerner,’ American Airlines luxurious transcontinental ship. There were no survivors….A department of commerce official predicted cause of the disaster probable never would be known.

 

“Last of the bodies were brought out of the swampland area at 8:45 a.m. on flat-bed wagons, drawn by mules which had difficulty making the trip. All bodies were removed to a Memphis funeral home where it was hoped that definite identifications could be made.

 

“Rescue workers, still assembling bits of bodies strewn over an area 400 yards long and about 75 yards wide in a water-filled bog, did not attempt to clear the wreckage pending arrival of Jack Janes, Fort Worth division airline inspector for the department of commerce.

 

“The liner crashed early last night on the Memphis-Little Rock hop of the regular New York-Los Angeles flight. Searching parties did not locate the wreckage until after midnight, finding plane and bodies torn to bits as the big line settled down over a woodland, then crashed through a dense growth of trees in the midst of the swamp.

 

“Among the victims was W. R. Dyess, Works Progress administrator for Arkansas; and Frank C. Hart, wealthy New Yorker, president of the Hartol Products Company. The passenger list given out by the company at Fort Worth follows:

 

Charles Altschul, 340 north Central, Glendale, Calif.

  1. C. Cahn, 827 south Pimpau Blvd., Los Angeles.

Mrs. S. Horowitz,

Mrs. B. Horowitz and

Seba Horowitz, all of Walcott Road, Boston, Mass.

  1. R. Dyess, 101 Ridgeway, Little Rock, Ark.
  2. H. McNair Jr., 314 South Balman street, Little Rock, Ark.

Mrs. J. S. Gremillion, Knoxville, Tenn.

  1. C. Hart, 630 Fifth Avenue, New York.
  2. S. Hardwicke, Beardstown, Illinois.
  3. D. Chernus, Beardstown, Illinois.
  4. Porter, Third and Lehi streets, Philadelphia.

Henry W. Flate Jr., of Laredo, Texas.

Sam Schwartz, Apollo Hotel, Atlantic City, N.J. ….”

 

(Associated Press. “17 Killed in Goodwin, Ark., Plane Crash.” Fayetteville Daily Democrat, AR. 1-15-1936, p.1.)

Sources

 

Associated Press. “17 Killed in Goodwin, Ark., Plane Crash.” Fayetteville Daily Democrat, AR. 1-15-1936, p.1. Accessed 11-25-2024 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/fayetteville-daily-democrat-jan-15-1936-p-1/

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Database, 1936. American Airlines crash, Goodwin AR, 14 January 1936. Accessed 11-25-2024 at: https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/342371