1954 — Jan 10, Union Producing Co. duck hunting plane icing crash, no. shore Wallace Lake LA–all 12

–12 Aviation Safety Network. Grumman Mallard AP approach crash, icing, n. shore Wallace Lake, LA.
–12 Prime. “Crash 60 years ago killed Shreveport leadership.” Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA. 12-30-2013.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Database:
“Date: Sunday 10 January 1954
“Time: 17:50
“Type: Grumman G-73 Mallard
“Operator: Union Producing Comp
“Registration: N4949N
“MSN: J-16
“First flight: 1947
“Crew: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
“Passengers: Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10
….
“Location: 16 km (10 mls) SE of Shreveport, LA (United States of American)
“Phase: Approach (APR)
“Nature: Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger
“Departure airport: ?
“Destination airport: Shreveport Regional Airport, LA…
“Narrative:

“The Grumman G-73 Mallard took off from a private duck hunting camp at Lower Mud Lake, LA at 16:35. The pilot was advised that of reported icing conditions at 4000 feet. There was light snow and fog at the Shreveport Airport. At 17:45 the pilot reported that he was at 2000 feet and that they had picked up “a load of ice”.

“The flight was cleared to 1500 feet but the pilot reported descending to 1200 feet which was all he could hold. The flight was then cleared for the approach. Last radio contact was at 17:49 when the pilot reported below the clouds. The airplane was seen banking from side to side until it crashed in a wooded area at the north shore of Wallace Lake.

“Probable Cause: “The Board [Civil Aeronautics Board] determines that the probable cause of this accident was the rapid accumulation of wing ice to such a degree that the aircraft could not maintain altitude. A contributing factor was the pilot’s failure to acquaint himself with the pertinent weather forecasts.”” [Blanchard note: while there is a link to the CAB final report it is inoperative, as it is, as well, of the US Dept. of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Library, website, when attempted 7-2-2023.]

Newspaper

Dec 30, 2013, Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA (John Andrew Prime): “Imagine a plane crash that in one fell swoop took the lives of Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, cartoonist William Joyce, the commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing and several major local business owners. That essentially was what happened to Shreveport and the rest of Caddo on Jan. 10, 1954, when a twin-engine Grumman Mallard amphibian airplane, its wings caked with ice from bad weather, crashed on its way back to Shreveport with many of the brash growing city’s business and civic leaders on board.

“The plane was one of two that went on a South Louisiana duck hunting trip packed with local leaders. The crash devastated the business community in the postwar boom when the local economy still relied heavily on the energy industry.

“The crash killed 12 people, including six prominent Shreveporters and Dallas resident Thomas E. Braniff, president of Braniff Airways. The seaplane crashed into the treetops at the north side of Wallace Lake and exploded into flames. ‘All occupants were killed instantly or died in the flaming wreckage,’ The Times’ front-page story said. A grisly detail: Frozen fowl taken in the hunt littered the area.

“Shreveport leaders killed in the crash were financier Justin R. Querbes Sr., Interstate Electric President Randolph Querbes Sr., Texas Eastern Transmission Co. President R.H. Hargrove, Atlas Processing Chairman John B. Atkins Sr., Goldring’s Vice President E. Bernard Weiss and independent oil producer J.P. Evans.

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Database. Union Producing Comp. Grumman G-73 Mallard airport approach crash, icing, north shore Wallace Lake, LA. 1-10-1954. Accessed 7-2-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19540110-0

Prime, John Andrew. “Crash 60 years ago killed Shreveport leadership.” Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA. 12-30-2013. Accessed 7-2-2023 at: https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2013/12/30/crash-60-years-ago-killed-shreveport-leadership/4246885/