lornajarrettblanchard

—  10  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  FARS 1975-2010 Fatality Analysis.

—  10  NTSB. HAR. J.C. Sales…Semitrailer…Church Van Collision…Lemoore, CA, Oct 8, 1982

 

Narrative Information

 

National Transportation Safety Board: “Synopsis

 

“About 7:50 am., p.d.t, on October 8, 1982, an automobile stopped in compliance with a stop sign at the stop line in the southbound lane of 19th Avenue at its intersection with State Route (SR) 198 near Lemoore, California. After waiting for traffic to clear, the driver accelerated the automobile into the intersection. The automobile’s engine stalled, and the vehicle came to a stop, blocking the westbound curb lane on SR 198 in which a westbound tractor-semitrailer was approaching the intersection. While the automobile driver was attempting to restart his vehicle’s engine the tractor-semitrailer continued toward the intersection with no apparent lessening of speed. The driver started the automobile engine and moved the vehicle forward to a position which partially blocked the westbound curb lane and also partially obstructed the westbound median lane. However, the driver stopped the automobile before clearing the intersection when he saw that the truck was close to his automobile. The truck driver swerved his vehicle left and applied the brakes to avoid striking the automobile. The truck traveled to the left of the center of the highway, through the intersection and into the eastbound curb lane where it collided head-on with an eastbound van. Nine of the van’s 11 occupants were killed in the collision, 1 passenger died 3 days later, and 1 passenger received minor injuries. The truck driver received serious injuries.

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the truck driver to slow his vehicle while approaching an automobile that was stalled in an intersection and his subsequent failure to control his vehicle while making an avoidance maneuver. Contributing to the cause of the accident was the automobile driver’s poor judgment in moving farther into the intersection after he restarted the automobile’s engine.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

“As a result of its investigation of this accident, the National Transportation Safety Board reiterates the following recommendation made to the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety on May 30, 1975:

 

“Upon the completion of the research dealing with the development of the tractor-trailer driver training standards, distribute such training course information to all professional commercial driver training schools. (H-75-9)

 

“As a result of its investigation of this accident, the National Transportation Safety Board also recommended that the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety:

 

“Upon completion of the testing of the Tractor-Trailer Driver Training Standards, the Sample Model Curriculum, and final examination criteria, amend Part 391, “Qualifications of Drivers,” of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to include criteria and standards for the training of tractor-trailer drivers. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-83-21).”  (NTSB. HAR. J.C. Sales…Semitrailer…Church Van Collision…Lemoore, CA, Oct 8, 1982.)

 

Sources

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Partial Data Dump of Crashes Involving 10 or More Fatalities, by Year, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 1975-2009 Final and 2010 ARF. Washington, DC: NHTSA, pdf file provided to Wayne Blanchard, 1-26-2012.

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Highway Accident Report. J.C. Sales, Inc., Tractor-Semitrailer, Calvary Baptist Church Van Collision, State Route 198 at 19^th Avenue, Near Lemoore, California, October 8, 1982 (NTSB HAR-83/02; NTIS PB83-916202). Washington, DC: NTSB, adopted May 3, 1983. At: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1983/HAR8302.htm

 

 

 

 

 

— 7  Fletcher, Dan. “A Brief History of the Tylenol Poisonings.” Time, 2-9-2009.

— 7  History.com. “1982. The Tylenol murders.” Sep 29 — This Day in History.

— 7  Markel, H. “How the Tylenol murders of 1982 changed the way…” PBS, 9-29-2014.[1]

— 7  Wilkerson. “Tylenol Maker Settles in Tampering Deaths.” New York Times, 5-14-1991.

 

Narrative Information

 

History.com, Sep 29: “On this day in 1982, a sick 12-year-old girl in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, unwittingly takes an Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule laced with cyanide poison and dies later that day. She would be one of seven people to die suddenly after taking the popular over-the-counter medication, as the so-called Tylenol murders spread fear across America. The victims, all from the Chicago area, ranged in age from 12 to 35 and included three members of the same family. Johnson & Johnson, the maker of Tylenol, launched a massive recall of its product and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible.

 

“Investigators soon determined that the tainted Tylenol capsules hadn’t been tampered with at the factories where they were produced. This meant that someone had taken the bottles from store shelves, laced them with poison and then returned them to grocery stores and pharmacies, where the victims later purchased the tampered bottles….”[2] (History.com. “1982. The Tylenol murders.” Sep 29 — This Day in History.)

 

Markel: “Early on the morning of Sept. 29, 1982, a tragic, medical mystery began with a sore throat and a runny nose. It was then that Mary Kellerman, a 12-year-old girl from Elk Grove Village, a suburb of Chicago, told her mother and father about her symptoms. They gave her one extra-strength Tylenol capsule that, unbeknownst to them, was laced with the highly poisonous potassium cyanide. Mary was dead by 7 a.m. Within a week, her death would panic the entire nation. And only months later, it changed the way we purchase and consume over-the-counter medications.

 

“That same day, a 27-year-old postal worker named Adam Janus of Arlington Heights, Illinois, died of what was initially thought to be a massive heart attack but turned out to be cyanide poisoning as well. His brother and sister-in-law, Stanley, 25, and Theresa, 19, of Lisle, Illinois, rushed to his home to console their loved ones. Both experienced throbbing headaches, a not uncommon response to a death in the family and each took a Tylenol extra-strength capsule or two from the same bottle Adam had used earlier in the day. Stanley died that very day and Theresa died two days later. Over the next few days, three more strange deaths occurred: 35-year-old Mary McFarland of Elmhurst, Illinois, 35-year-old Paula Prince of Chicago, and 27-year-old Mary Weiner[3] of Winfield, Illinois. All of them, it turned out, took Tylenol shortly before they died….

 

“To this day…the perpetrators of these murders have never been found.” (Markel, Howard (MD). “How the Tylenol murders of 1982 changed the way we consume medication.” PBS, 9-29-2014.)

 

Sources

 

Fletcher, Dan. “A Brief History of the Tylenol Poisonings.” Time, 2-9-2009. Accessed 4-19-2017 at: http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1878063,00.html

 

History.com. “1982. The Tylenol murders.” Sep 29 — This Day in History (General Interest). Accessed 4-18-2017 at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-tylenol-murders

 

Markel, Howard (MD). “How the Tylenol murders of 1982 changed the way we consume medication.” PBS, 9-29-2014. Accessed 4-18-2017 at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/tylenol-murders-1982/

 

Wilkerson. “Tylenol Maker Settles in Tampering Deaths.” New York Times, 5-14-1991. Accessed 4-19-2017 at: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/14/us/tylenol-maker-settles-in-tampering-deaths.html

 

 

[1] PBS notes that three people died on September 29, one person two days later, and three more “over the next few days.” A comment to the article notes that all seven deaths “happened on the same day,” September 29.

[2] In the comment section to the Markel article one commenter wrote that the contaminated bottles came from the same distribution warehouse, and thus could have been tampered with there.

[3] Comment to the article states that the name was Mary Reiner.

— 13  AP. “Murder suspect an ex-con…prison guard.” Evening Sun, Hanover, PA, 9-27-1982, 4.

— 13  Duwe, Grant.  Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007, p. 28.

— 13  Lounsberry. “Judge to Weigh Mental State of Killer…” Philadelphia Inquirer, 1-31-2006.

 

 

Narrative Information

 

Lounsberry: George Banks was convicted…“for killing his 5 children, four current or former girlfriends and four others in a deadly rampage in Wilkes-Barre. Banks has said he wanted to protect his children from suffering the abuse he encountered as a biracial child.” (Lounsberry. Jan 31, 2006.)

 

“George Emil Banks was on leave from his job as a prison guard when he borrowed an AR-15 assault rifle and shot to death 13 people, including five of his children.  The shooting spree, in the Northeastern Pennsylvania city of Wilkes-Barre, remains the worst killing rampage by one person in state history. Banks was convicted in 1983 and sentenced to death after an unsuccessful insanity defense.”  (Lounsberry. Jan 31, 2006.)

 

Newspapers

 

Sep 27: “Harrisburg (AP) — George Banks lived down his criminal record and was regarded as a good worker by superiors at the state correctional Institution at Camp Hill. But Banks, who sat alone in a watch tower with a shotgun for eight hours a day, was not that well know, interviews with prison guards and officials indicated. He spent a lot of time isolated from other people. His low profile and isolation ended Saturday after he was held in connection with a shooting spree in Wilkes-Barre and nearby Jenkins Township that left 13 people dead and one person critically injured….

 

“State Bureau of Corrections spokesman Ken Robinson said personnel files reviewed by a prison official showed Banks had served 7½ years in the maximum security prison at Graterford for attempted robbery. Court records said the conviction stemmed from the shooting of a Scranton bartender during a robbery attempt….

 

“Banks apparently stayed with his mother in Harrisburg during the week and commuted home to his family in Wilkes-Barre on weekends…

 

“According to a newspaper clipping, a 21-year-old inmate, George Banks of Wilkes-Barre, escaped from Graterford in 1964 while on a farm detail but was recaptured within two hours. That Banks was reported serving six to 15 years for robbery, felonious assault with intent to kill, burglary and larceny….” (Associated Press. “Murder suspect an ex-con and a state prison guard.” Evening Sun, Hanover, PA, 9-27-1982, p. 4.)

 

Sep 27: “Details surrounding 13 slayings early Saturday [Sep 25] remain sketchy, but reports from sources and police, who have charged George Banks of Wilkes-Barre in the case, yielded this account of the events.

“Approximately 2:15 a.m. — A loud bang that sounds like someone kicking in a door is heard at the Heather Highlands Mobile Home village in Jenkins Township, and a man yells, ‘Where’s my children?’

 

“Approximately 2:20 a.m. — Four gunshots ring out, and a man shouts, ‘I’m going to kill all of you.’ 2:29 a.m. — police get a call from Angelo Mazzillo, 9, who has taken the phone receiver out of the lifeless hand of his mother, Alice Mazzillo, to report the slayings. Police later find two women and two children shot to death in the trailer.

 

“Approximately 2:45 a.m. — The suspect arrives at a home on Schoolhouse Lane in Wilkes-Barre. Raymond Hall, 24, of Wilkes-Barre, and James Olsen, 22, of Plains Township, are shot as they leave a party across the street.

 

“3 a.m. — Wilkes-Barre police receive a report of a shooting. They find three women and four children shot to death at the home..

 

“3:30 a.m. — Hall dies at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. Olsen would survive, in critical condition.

 

“Approximately 5 a.m. — The suspect arrives at his mother’s home and drives off in a green sedan. 6:15 a.m. — Police receive a report saying the suspect had barricaded himself in a vacant hours on Monroe street. 7:20 a.m. — Police arrive, surround the house, seal off the area and shut off the power. 9 1.m. — Police break the tense silence with a plea: ‘George, come on out…We’ll take you down to the hospital…We’re not going to hurt you.’ Mid-morning — The suspect tells a friend, Robert Brunson, that ‘it was a good day to die.’ 11:17 a.m. — The suspect hands his gun through a window, says, ‘Don’t shoot’ and surrenders….” (Evening Sun, Hanover, PA. “Chronology: A bloody night.” 9-27-1982, p. 4.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Murder suspect an ex-con and a state prison guard.” Evening Sun, Hanover, PA, 9-27-1982, p. 4. Accessed 5-12-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hanover-evening-sun-sep-27-1982-p-4/?tag

 

Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007.

 

Evening Sun, Hanover, PA. “Chronology: A bloody night.” 9-27-1982, p. 4. Accessed 5-12-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hanover-evening-sun-sep-27-1982-p-4/?tag

 

Lounsberry, Emilie. “Judge to Weigh Mental State of Killer of 14 on Death Row” Philadelphia Inquirer. 1-31-2006.

 

—  46  Baugher, Joseph F. 1974 USAF Serial Numbers.  1-5-2012 revision.

—  46  Chinook-helicopter.com. “74-22292.”

—  46  (8 US) Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, 135

—  46  Socrata, the Open Data Co. Airplane_Crashes_and_Fatalities_Since_1908(1).

—  46  (7 U.S.) Stars and Stripes. 9-11-2003, in Chinook-helicipter.com.  “74-22292.”

—  44  Oelwein Daily Register, IA.  “U.S. copter crashes at international air show.” 9-11-1982, 1.

 

Narrative Information

 

Baugher: “Boeing-Vertol CH-47C Chinook….22292 (c/n B.711) crashed Sept 11, 1982 near Mannheim, West Germany due to mechanical failure Sep 11, 1982. 46 killed.  Was participating in Mannheim’s 375^th birthday celebration.” (Baugher. 1974 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-5-2012 rev.)

 

Chinook-helicopter.com.  “….Without question, the loss of this aircraft resulted in the worst and most tragic accident to occur in the history of the Chinook and all helicopters in general…..

 

“The City of Mannheim requested two Chinooks to drop sky divers at the Air Show for the 375^th anniversary of the city. Although both helicopters arrived on schedule, instead of two Chinooks executing the mission, someone made the decision to only take one aircraft. The Para-jumpers desired to set a world record by forming the largest joined circle of free-falling sky divers ever accomplished. As a result, 46 people climbed aboard one Chinook. Since there were only 33 seats available in the cabin, 11 people remained standing. The aircraft took off without difficulty.

 

“The aircrew planned the drop at 13,000 feet. After climbing for about 12 minutes, to an estimated altitude of 8,000 to 9,000 feet, the tower received a message from the aircraft that a problem had developed and it was descending to land. About the same time, the pilot of the second aircraft, observing from the ground, saw 292 start down. Out of curiosity, he jumped in the cockpit of his aircraft and, on the company’s private frequency, made contact with 292. He asked them if they were having any trouble. The pilot of 292 reported a flickering caution light, that a noise was heard, and they were coming down. After a few minutes of autorotation, 292 was set up to land on the runway.

 

“At the last moment, the aircrew decided there were too many people in the area where they were trying to land. The aircraft was now at approximately 600 feet. The descent was halted in an attempt to cross the autobahn and land on the other side. When power was applied to arrest the descent, the in-flight break-up of the helicopter began. Witnesses on the ground reporting hearing a loud bang and describing a “whooshing” sound. The Aft Rotor Blades were observed departing the airframe. Shortly after the Aft Blades failed, the Aft Rotor Hub, along with half of the Aft Pylon separated from the fuselage.

 

“A split second after half of the Aft Pylon separated, the Aft Transmission and the remaining portion of the Aft Pylon began to tear away from the airframe. The aircraft slowly rolled onto it’s right side as it continued to descend….

 

“74-22292 crashed onto the autobahn between Mannheim and Heidelberg, making contact on the helicopter’s right side, in a slightly nose up attitude. Upon impact, 74-22292 burst into a huge fire ball, creating a glowing mushroom cloud above the impact site. The “G” force at impact was estimated at 200. An average 180 pound person aboard the helicopter would have been subjected to a force of 36,000 pounds. There is no doubt that death was instantaneous. At some point after the accident, the Flight Engineer assigned to 74-22292, who was crewing another aircraft that day in support of “REFORGER”, saw what was left of his heavy metal tool box. Stamped permanently into the bottom of the box was a clear impression of a large open end wrench.

 

“The failure of the Forward Transmission Input Pinion Capsule caused the Number 1 Synchronized Drive Shaft to rotate eccentric and contact the Forward Pylon structure, causing the shaft to fail, followed by the subsequent de-synchronization of the Forward and Aft Rotor Systems. The Forward and Aft Rotor Blades meshed causing the Aft Pylon, Aft Transmission and the Aft Rotor System to separate from the helicopter with catastrophic results. The entire crew and all passengers received fatal injuries. Failure of the Input Pinion Capsule was caused by Walnut Grit blocking the oil journals inside the transmission. Walnut Grit was used to clean the transmission during the overhaul process.

 

“After the fire fighting foam was washed off the wreckage, all that remained was a pile of wreckage approximately 15 feet wide, 20 feet long, 4 feet high at it’s highest point.

 

“A story handed down through time via word of mouth was the failure of the Input Pinion Capsule was caused by walnut grit blocking the lubricating oil journals inside the transmission. For many years prior to this accident, walnut grit was successfully used as an effective cleaning agent for the transmissions during the overhaul process. It is softer than the base metal, but harder than the contaminants that accrue inside the transmission. Shortly prior to this accident a procedural change in the process was made. Inspectors working for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) examined the working conditions at Corpus Christi Army Depot. It was noted that high pressure air, approximately 3,000 PSI, was used to blow the walnut grit out of the oil journals. This high a pressure was deemed dangerous to workers and it was ordered that the pressure be lowered. As a result, the walnut grit was no longer completely removed during the cleaning procedure. Eventually, when the transmission was placed into service, the walnut grit would flow through the oil passages and accumulate in a point blocking a journal. A bearing would fail from the lack of lubrication.

 

“Whether or not the preceding paragraph was entirely true is not clear. What was known was that walnut grit did indeed block the oil journals and cause the failure of the Input Pinion Capsule. Flight Engineers serving in the Army from that time period reported that this accident resulted in a fleet wide grounding and inspection of all transmissions. They went on to report that most of the operational fleet contained walnut grit in many of the transmissions.” (Chinook-helicipter.com.  “74-22292.”)

 

Gero:  “Date:  11 September 1982 (c. 12:50)….

 

“Loaded with mostly French but also German and British civilian sky-divers, who were to have jumped over Neuostheim Airport as part of the city of Mannheim’s 375^th birthday celebration, the turbine-engine helicopter crashed after experiencing catastrophic mechanical and ensuing rotor failure.

 

“All 46 persons aboard perished in the disas­ter, including the four members of the aircraft’s crew and four other US military personnel.

 

“The rotorcraft had ascended to an altitude of about 10,000ft (3,000m) before it began to descend without dropping the parachutists.  Asked the reason for this, the pilot announced to another pilot who was on the ground, ‘We had some noise in the aft and got a flicker on the master caution panel’. In preparation for landing at the airport, 74-22292 continued in a circling descent and appeared to enter the traffic pattern, turning right and proceed­ing approximately due south at an estimated air speed of 80 to 90mph (130-145kph).

 

“After it had reached an approximate height of 500ft (150m) above the ground and while completing a right turn on to the down-wind leg of the circuit for Runway 09, the aft rotor unit, transmission and pylon were seen to separate from the aircraft. The CH-47 then rotated about 180 degrees to the right and fell first in a tail-clown attitude, leveling off in an uncon­trolled, vertical descent before finally hitting the ground on its belly and lower starboard side, with its nose slightly low and in an estimated right bank of 45 degrees.

 

“Impact was on the median of a four-lane autobahn 1,500ft (500m) south of the airport, whereupon the aircraft exploded and burned. At the time, the local weather was hazy but otherwise good, the crew of 74-22292 having taken off under visual flight rules procedures.

 

“The crash was blamed on bearing failure in the forward transmission pack, which had caused the No. 1 synchronizing drive shaft to rotate in an eccentric manner and come in contact with the forward pylon structure.  As a result, the forward and aft rotor systems lost synchronization and meshed, leading to the afore­mentioned blade and structural failures.  Investigation revealed the pinion pack lubricator jets to be clogged with a combination of grease and walnut shell particles, leading to the bearing failure through lack of lubrication, with faulty design the underlying factor. The US Army’s entire fleet of CH-47 helicopters was temporarily grounded for inspection in the wake of the disaster, and a modifi­cation of the lubrication system ordered.”  (Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, 135.)

 

Socrata: “Crashed after experiencing catastrophimechanical failure and separation of one of the rotors. The aircraft was carrying French and German sky divers as part of Mannheim’s 375 birthday celebration. Bearing failure in the forward transmission pack.”  (Socrata, the Open Data Co. Airplane_Crashes_and_Fatalities_Since_1908(1).)

 

AP, Sep 11: “Mannheim, West Germany (AP) — A U.S. military helicopter crashed onto a busy West German highway during an international air show today, killing all 44 people aboard, including five American crew members, police said.

 

“Witnesses reported seeing one of the chopper’s rotor blades fly off.  There were also reports the craft exploded on impact.  It was not immediately clear whether any vehicles on the autobahn were hit and there was no official report on the cause of the crash.

 

“A spokesman at police headquarters in this southwestern industrial city said the helicopter, apparently a Chinook, carried five American crew members and 39 skydivers.  “Last reports we got from the scene of the accident were that the crew members were Americans, and that the 39 skydivers aboard included members of clubs from England, France and West Germany,” the spokesman said.  “They were all dead.”….

 

“In Heidelberg, a U.S. military spokesman said earlier that West German police reported that the helicopter had taken off from Neu-Ostheim base near Mannheim.  “I am not sure, but I believe these skydivers are chiefly civilians who were participating in the Mannheim Air Show,” he said.

 

“The helicopter had apparently participated in an international air show organized for Mannheim’s 375^th anniversary, police said.  Organizers of the city-sponsored air show ordered it

canceled, a spokesman said….”  (Oelwein Daily Register, IA.  “U.S. copter crashes at international air show.” 9-11-1982, 1.)

 

Sep 11, Stars and Stripes: “Mannheim, Germany – Dozens gathered Thursday at the Neuostheim airport to remember another 911 tragedy.  On 11 September 1982, a CH-47C Chinook helicopter from the Coleman Barracks-based 295^th Assault Support Helicopter Company was carrying skydivers from France, Germany and Wales when it plummeted 600 feet to the ground during an air show marking Mannheim’s 375^th anniversary.  Forty-six people were killed, including seven U.S. troops.  Five were Chinook crewmembers, while two others were American Forces Network soldiers assigned to cover the jump.”  (Stars and Stripes. 9-11-2003; in Chinook-helicipter.com.  “74-22292.”)

 

Sources

 

Baugher, Joseph F. 1974 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-5-2012 revision. Accessed 3-13-2012 at:  http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1974.html

 

Chinook-helicipter.com. “74-22292.” Accessed 3-13-2012 at:

http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/history/aircraft/C_Models/74-22292/74-22292.html

 

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

 

Oelwein Daily Register, IA.  “U.S. copter crashes at international air show.” 9-11-1982, 1. Accessed at:  http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=103938770

 

Socrata, the Open Data Co. Airplane_Crashes_and_Fatalities_Since_1908(1). http://www.socrata.com/

 

 

 

—  25  Los Angeles Times. “It was as if the devil himself lived there.” March 22, 1988.

—  24  Duwe, Grant.  Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007, p. 28.

—  24  Los Angeles Fire Department. Historical Archive. “The Dorothy Mae Apartment Fire.”

—  24  NFPA.  Summary Investigation Report:  Dorothy Mae Apartment Hotel Fire. 1982.

—  24  National Fire Sprinkler Association.  F.Y.I.  1999, p. 6.

 

Narrative Information

 

Los Angeles Fire Department: “The Dorothy Mae Apartment is a four-story, 50 ft. wide X 140 ft. deep, center hallway, of brick-joist construction that was built in 1927. Due to its location on an inclined lot, the first floor has only a foyer and boiler/laundry room located at the front of the building. The upper three floors contain 43 residential apartments occupied by approximately 170 people, almost all of whom were Spanish speaking. The building had the required Ponet doors and smoke detectors installed.

 

“ANALYSIS OF THE FIRE

 

“The fire started in the second floor hallway, just inside the front Ponet door by the use of a flammable liquid. It appears that it burned unnoticed for some time. It is not clear how occupants first became aware of the fire. Once alerted, occupants started evacuating, using the hallways. Indications are that a flashover or back-draft occurred, resulting in 18 fatalities on the second floor and third floor.

 

“The Ponet doors at the front stairwell were closed, as was the Ponet door on the fourth floor at the rear stairs. The Ponet doors from the second floor hallway to the rear stairs, and the fourth floor stairs to the exterior fire escape were open. This allowed the fire to travel from the front of the second floor to the rear stairs, and the fourth floor stairs to the exterior fire escape were open. This allowed the fire to travel from the front of the second floor to the rear, up the stairs to the third floor hallway, and up the stairs to the fourth floor, and out the rear of the building on the fourth floor.

 

“The Fire Department received a delayed alarm to this incident. The flashover/backdraft occurred prior to the Fire Department’s arrival. Upon our arrival there were indications of a small fire at the rear, not the true extent of the fire that had taken place, nor the large number of fatalities and injuries that had occurred.

 

“ACTIONS TAKEN:

 

“First arriving companies discovered the true situation upon entering the building at the rear. From the reports of bodies stacked in the stairwell, additional resources were requested. Companies were committed to extinguishing the residual fire, rescuing trapped occupants from windows, and a Medical Division was implemented to take care of the many injuries.

 

“In the later stages of the incident, the fire that had transmitted to the ceiling of the first floor boiler room started to run the walls of the adjacent elevator shaft and up to the two apartments over the boiler room via an air shaft, was dug out and extinguished.

 

“There have been 24 fatalities to date from this incident; 18 pronounced at the scene, and 6 within one week that died in hospitals. There were two Firefighter injuries.

 

“Twenty Companies and eight Rescue Ambulances were used at this incident. The Medical Division triaged, treated, and transported 29 casualties in 45 minutes….” (Los Angeles Fire Department. Historical Archive. “The Dorothy Mae Apartment Fire.”)

 

National Fire Protection Association: “On September 4, 1982, an early morning fire in the Dorothy Mae Apartment Hotel located in the City of Los Angeles, California, resulted in the deaths of 24 occupants, critical injury to another and assorted non-critical injuries to 32 other occupants and two fire fighters.  The fire, reported to the fire department at 4:27 a.m., has been determined to be incendiary in origin by investigators of the Los Angeles City Fire Department Arson Investigation Unit. A 19-year old suspect was arrested and charged on December 23, 1982 with setting the fire. Most of the occupants in the apartment building were from a single town in Mexico and many were inter-related. Ten of the occupants who died in the fire were related to the suspect.

 

“The fire was reportedly set in the second floor exit access corridor of the building.  Fire and smoke were able to spread from the point of origin throughout two of the three exit access corridors due to several fire doors in the north stairway being in the open position during the fire. Nineteen of the occupants who died in the fire were located in the north stairway on the second and third floor landings and in the third floor exit access corridor.  They had been attempting to escape from the building when they were engulfed by flames when the fire “exploded” enveloping the north stairway in flames.

 

“The exact number of occupants present in the building at the time of the fire is not known; however, through their investigation, the fire department has determined that there were approximately 170 occupants in the building at the time of the fire. The fire department rescued more than 50 trapped occupants over ladders during the incident.

 

“Factors contributing to the fatalities in this fire include:

 

• Location of the point of origin of the incendiary fire within an exit component,

 

• Use of a flammable liquid which provided a rapid and intense build-up of the fire,

 

• Presence of combustible plywood paneling on walls of the central exit access corridors which provided the fuel load for the continued growth and spread of the fire,

 

• Several fire doors in the north stairway were blocked open and/or failed to be maintained,

 

• Delay in detection of the developing fire and subsequent notification, in a timely manner, of occupants and,

 

• Delay in the notification of the fire department.”

 

(NFPA.  Summary Investigation Report:  Dorothy Mae Apartment Hotel Fire.  1982.)

 

Newspaper

 

March 22, LA Times: “Near Sunset Boulevard and Figueroa Street, just north of downtown Los Angeles, there is a flurry of construction work taking place these days. More than 400 apartments are being built to meet the growing demand for housing in the area.

 

“But in the midst of the hammering and sawing, a piece of vacant land at 821 W. Sunset Blvd. remains untouched–dwarfed by the activity around it. Upon it once sat a 43-unit apartment building, which became the scene of one of the deadliest residential fires in city history.

 

“The Dorothy Mae Apartment Hotel was swept by flames early in the morning of Sept. 4, 1982. Nineteen people, including an unborn baby and its mother, perished as the fire roared through the 50-year-old, three-story structure. Thirty-six other people were injured, and, within 10 days, six of them had died.  Only the 1973 Stratford Apartments fire, in which 25 people were killed and 52 were injured, was as deadly, Los Angeles fire officials said.

 

“The Dorothy Mae fire devastated what was literally an extended family. The building was informally known as “Little Salitre” because virtually all its nearly 200 residents came from the rural town of El Salitre in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. Many fire victims were related to one another.

 

“Authorities said the inferno was a case of arson–the result of an argument between the manager and a nephew, who lived in the building, over the latter’s membership in a street gang, his smoking of marijuana and spray painting of graffiti.  Upset, the nephew, Humberto de la Torre, then 19, brought a dollar’s worth of gasoline, threw it on the floor of an apartment and then ignited it with a match, investigators said. The flames spread quickly, engulfing the building. The uncle, Mateo de la Torre, was unhurt in the blaze.

 

“Humberto de la Torre was arrested the following December in Texas, pleaded guilty to 25 counts of murder and in 1985 was sentenced to 625 years in prison. He is now serving his sentence at Folsom Prison.

 

“The fire rendered even the land itself practically useless for a while, its owners, a group of businessmen holding it for investment, said.

 

“It was as if the devil himself lived there,” said attorney Hiran Kwan, a member of HLL Management Co. that owned the Dorothy Mae, expecting the land’s proximity to the city’s growing Chinatown would make it an increasingly valuable site.

 

“Kwan said his group found little interest in its plans to build a new apartment house or hotel on the lot. He blamed adverse publicity stemming from the fire and false rumors that owners were going to be prosecuted because fire officials had found unsafe conditions that might have contributed to the toll. (Fire Department records showed the building had generally been kept up to city fire code standards and had been cited in the past for only minor violations.)

 

“Kwan’s group, which is a major player in the current round of construction near Sunset and Figueroa, sold the Dorothy Mae land in 1984 for $500,000 to another group of businessmen, headed by Chinatown banker Kenneth Wong.

 

“Wong said his group, U.P. Investment Inc., wants to use the Dorothy Mae site as part of a major hotel and a shopping center development along Sunset. The group is trying to put together financing for the $19-million project, said Wong, board chairman of United Pacific Bank.” (Los Angeles Times.  “It was as if the devil himself lived there.”  March 22, 1988.)

 

Sources

 

Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007.

 

Los Angeles Fire Department. Historical Archive. “The Dorothy Mae Apartment Fire.”  Accessed 8-10-2010 at: http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/MajorIncident-index.htm

 

Los Angeles Times. “It was as if the devil himself lived there.” 3-22-1988. Accessed 5-12-2017 at: http://articles.latimes.com/1988-03-22/local/me-1684_1_dorothy-mae

 

National Fire Protection Association. Summary Investigation Report:  Dorothy Mae Apartment Hotel Fire, Los Angeles, CA, September 4, 1982, 24 Fatalities.  Quincy, MA:  NFPA, 1982.

 

National Fire Sprinkler Association, Inc. F.Y.I. – Fire Sprinkler Facts. Patterson, NY: NFSA, November 1999, 8 pages. Accessed at: http://www.firemarshals.org/data/File/docs/College%20Dorm/Administrators/F1%20-%20FIRE%20SPRINKLER%20FACTS.pdf

 

 

 

— 9  Assoc. Press. “Searchers Find Plane, No Survivors.” Aiken Standard, SC. 9-2-1982, 5B.

— 9  Baugher, Joseph F.  1964 USAF Serial Numbers.  1-16-2012 revision.

— 9  Hansen, Paul “C-141 Tail Number: 64-0652.” C141Heaven.info. Accessed 4-19-2017.

 

Narrative Information

 

Baugher: “0652 (c/n 300-6065, 437 MAW) crashed Aug 31, 1982 Hoopers Bald Mountain near Murphy, NC.  All 9 onboard killed. (ASN).”

 

Hansen: Notes that “The extremely experienced crew elected to continue a low-level airdrop mission in mountainous terrain during marginal weather….The aircraft entered VR-92 at 1350 local time. Weather along the route was reported, by other aircraft as 4500 feet Overcast, tops to 8000 feet, with zero visibility below 4500 feet due to rain showers, ragged ceiling, multi-layered stratus and fog. Route weather was below MAC minimums.[1]

 

“….At 1427 the plots showed the aircraft in a progressive climb from 2500 feet. The aircraft impacted 4908 foot John’s Knob in the Tellico Wildlife Area, 118 feet short of the peak. At the time of impact the aircraft was in a slight climb of 4-5 degrees (approximately 2000 feet per minute)….Speculation was that the crew was attempting to use the recently installed Bendix color radar in the MAP mode, for terrain avoidance.” (Hansen, Paul. “C-141 Tail Number: 64-0652.” C141Heaven.info. Accessed 4-19-2017.)  [Contains photographs, information on the mission and crash and reproductions of several newspaper articles from Charleston, SC papers, the plane’s home station.]

 

Newspapers

 

Sep 1, United Press International: “….Authorities at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina early today sent a search plane to retrace the flight path of a C-141B cargo jet with nine crew members aboard that disappeared while intentionally flying low over mountainous terrain Tuesday. The last contact with the missing aircraft occurred at 1:50 p.m. Tuesday [Aug 31] when the Federal Aviation Administration gave it permission to descend to a low-level training route….” (UPI. “One Jet Crashes, Another Missing.” Cumberland Evening Times, MD. 9-1-1982, p. 2.)

 

Sep 2, Associated Press: “Tellico Plains, Tenn. (AP) — Searchers using flashlights in mountain terrain found the wreckage of a missing Air Force transport plane, but none of the nine crewmen survived, officials said today. The C-141B, missing on a routine training flight Tuesday, was found in the Cherokee National Forest on 4,900-foot high John’s Knob, said Capt. Bob Swabe, director of emergency services for the Tennessee Civil Air Patrol. The crash site in southeast Tennessee is near the North Carolina border. ‘Initial reports indicate there were no survivors,’ said Sgt. George Johnson at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina, where the plane was based….

 

“The wreckage was found at 11:25 p.m. Wednesday by searchers from the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Forest Service and Monroe County sheriff’s office, Swabe said. ‘It’s in a pretty rugged area…’ Swabe said…adding that the wreckage was scattered over a wide area.’….

 

“The plane, on a low-flying training mission, was due back at the Charleston base at about 6 p.m. Tuesday, and the search began about 30 minutes later. The low-level flight plan called for the plane to follow a mountainous route from northeast Alabama through Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia to northwest South Carolina, said Charleston AFB Capt. Beth Schneidhorst….

 

“The C-141B can carry up to 200 troops or 69,000 pounds of cargo, Ms. Schneidhorst said.” (Associated Press. “Searchers Find Plane, No Survivors.” Aiken Standard, SC. 9-2-1982, 5B.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Searchers Find Plane, No Survivors.” Aiken Standard, SC. 9-2-1982, 5B. Accessed 4-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/aiken-standard-sep-02-1982-p-17/?tag

 

Baugher, Joseph F. 1964 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-16-2012 revision. Accessed 2-26-2012 at:  http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1964.html

 

C141Heaven.info. “C-141 Tail Number: 64-0652.” Accessed 4-19-2017 at: http://www.c141heaven.info/dotcom/64/pic_64_0652.php

 

United Press International. “One Jet Crashes, Another Missing.” Cumberland Evening Times, MD. 9-1-1982, p. 2. Accessed 4-19-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cumberland-evening-times-sep-01-1982-p-2/?tag

[1] Minimum Acceptable Control?

— 9  Duwe, Grant.  Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007, p. 109.[1]

— 9  St. Petersburg Independent, FL. “Miami killer was a ‘hater’.” 8-21-1982, p. 2A.[2]

— 9  Wikipedia. “Carl Robert Brown.” 12-16-2012 modification.[3]

— 8  NYT. “Police Say Killer of 8 Had Just Purchased Gun.” 8-22-1982, Sec. 1, p. 22, col. 6.

 

Narrative Information

 

Duwe:  “….A schoolteacher for 20 years, Brown was ordered to receive psychiatric treatment after he had been placed on medical leave in December of 1981….On December 3, 1981, a classroom incident occurred that led to Brown’s dismissal.  Brown got into an argument with two boys after he accused them of throwing books.  During the argument, Brown described his sexual behavior with a girlfriend, and then threatened to use a stapler on the penis of one of the boys.  In a memo filed after the incident, Principle Octavio Visideo reported that he ‘found Mr. Brown to be incoherent and unable to grasp the severity of the situation at hand’ (UPI Wire, August 24, 1982; AM Cycle).  He sought counseling for Brown, who began seeing a psychiatrist in January.  Brown was later placed on medical leave in March.

 

“Just as Brown’s professional life started a downward spiral, so, too, did his personal life.  His second wife…divorced him because of his earlier refusal to get help for his mental health problems.  She said that he had once threatened ‘to plant bombs all over Miami and to get up on the roof and shoot everybody that comes by.’  Despite the apparent severity of Brown’s mental illness, the psychiatrist whom he had been seeing, Dr. Robert A. Wainger, thought that Brown did not pose a ‘danger to anyone.’  Dr. Wainger saw Brown two days before the shootings and noted, ‘He did not indicate…that he had any interest in harming anyone or himself’ (UPI Wire, August 24, 1982; AM Cycle)….

 

The morning after the “threatening remarks” at Moore’s shop, Brown “bought two shotguns, an automatic rifle, and ammunition from a Dade County gun shop.  Brown returned home, tossed one of the new guns to his son, and asked him to join him.  Frightened, the boy called his mother, who tried to call police but gave up after she was repeatedly transferred….

 

“Politicians responded to the shooting spree that was called ‘Miami’s biggest mass murder’ by introducing legislation requiring a 72-hour cooling off period before the purchase of rifles and handguns in the state of Florida.  Brown’s ex-wife claimed that such a waiting period might have prevented the mass shooting.  She also blamed the gun shop that sold him the guns, saying, ‘He had been there many times.  They must have known he was strange.  It is amazing they let him buy those guns’ (UPI Wire, July 2, 1983; AM Cycle.”  (Duwe, Grant.  Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007, pp. 109-111.)

 

St. Petersburg Independent:  “Miami – A slightly built Date County schoolteacher, irate about a repair bill, killed eight men and women and wounded three Friday as he stalked through a northwest section welding shop blasting employees with a shotgun. ‘I want to shoot everybody,’ said Carl R. Brown, 51, as he walked into the welding shop office.  Then he loaded his 12-gauge pump shotgun and began shooting the staff of Bob Moore’s Welding & Machine Service Inc.

 

“He left six dead, two dying and three wounded, then calmly pedaled away on an old bicycle.

 

“Seven blocks away the gunman was killed after an outraged motorist shot the gunman in the back and rammed his bicycle into a concrete pole.  Associate Medical Examiner Sigmund Menchel said his autopsy confirmed that Brown died of the bullet wound….

 

“The rampage is the deadliest mass murder in the number of victims in Dade County history.

“Most of the victims were strangers to Brown, who, until February, taught American history at Drew Middle School.  He had been relieved of his teaching duties and was on medical leave.  ‘I’m not surprised,’ said Hialeah Junior High teacher Arleane Rothenberg, who knew Brown for nearly 20 years.  ‘He hated everybody.  He was a bigot.  He should not have been in a classroom.  His problems were something that should have been caught a long time ago.

 

“Brown was a dissatisfied customer who complained on Thursday about the bill on a repair job to a lawn mower engine.  He cursed and made threats.  Employers at the welding shop did not take the threats seriously.

 

“Wearing a floppy straw hat and riding his bicycle Brown returned there shortly before 11 a.m. Friday.  He killed owner Bob Moore’s mother, Ernestine Moore, 67; his uncle, Magnum Moore, 78, who was the bookkeeper; Carl Lee, 47, the manager; Martha Steelman, 29, a secretary; Lonie Jeffries, 53, a crane operator; Juan Trespalacios, 38, a machinist; Pedro Vasques, 44, the shop foreman; and Nelson Barrios, 46, a welder….

 

“Passing motorist Mac Edwards heard a shotgun blast just before he saw the three wounded employees fleeing in panic.  They jumped into his car as he slowed for a traffic light.  ‘Get out of here! Get out of here!’ they screamed.  ‘A guy with  shotgun is going crazy out there.  Get us out of here, quick!’  Two of the bleeding men in his car were screaming in pain, the third was sobbing.  Edwards drove them to the safety of a Shell station a mile away and dialed 911….

 

“A frantic General Metals employee ran to All Florida Metals, a block away.  ‘He was in hysterics,’ said owner Mike Kram…Kram dashed toward the welding shop. He met General Metals employee Ernie Hammett, who was frantically trying to flag down cars.  Hammett told him that six to eight people were dead at Moore’s.  They ran back to Kram’s 1981 Lincoln Continental and took off in pursuit of the gunman.  As they came close to the bicyclist, Kram fired a warning shot to stop him.  It did not.  ‘We were about 15 feet from him,’ said Hammett, ‘and Mark said, ‘I’m going to hit him!’ Kram’s car was up close to the bicyclist’s rear tire, he said, when ‘he saw me and reached for his shotgun.’ ‘Out of reaction – I just ran directly at him.’  It was, Kram said, ‘a cold, cold thing to do. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life.’ The bicycle was hurled against the pole….Police said no charges would be filed against Kram….”  (St. Petersburg Independent, FL. “Miami killer was a ‘hater’.” 8-21-1982, p. 2A.)

 

NYT Abstract:  “Carl R. Brown, the 51-year-old suspended teacher who killed eight persons here Friday, bought the weapon he used hours earlier, the police said today. They said Mr. Brown went to a gun shop a block from his house and bought a Mossberg 500, a shotgun with a 20-inch barrel capable of firing eight shots by pump action.”  (New York Times.  “Police Say Killer of 8 Had Just Purchased Gun.” 8-22-1982, Sec. 1, p. 22, c.6.)

 

Sources

 

Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007.

 

New York Times. “Police Say Killer of 8 Had Just Purchased Gun.” 8-22-1982, Sec. 1, p. 22, c.6. http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/22/us/around-the-nation-police-say-killer-of-8-had-just-purchased-gun.html

 

St. Petersburg Independent, FL. “Miami killer was a ‘hater’.” 8-21-1982, p. 2A. Accessed at: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uuYLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C1kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4879,1435085&dq=carl+robert+brown

 

Wikipedia. “Carl Robert Brown.” 12-16-2012 mod. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Robert_Brown

 

 

 

 

[1] Eight killed by shooter before shooter was shot and hit by vehicle while riding his getaway bicycle.

[2] Eight killed by shooter plus shooter death.

[3] Eight killed by shooter plus shooter death.

— 12  AP. “Plane overloaded before crash.” Galveston Daily News, TX, 7-30-1982, 7A.

— 12  Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39435.

— 12  dperley comment in: Veillette. “Weight Matters…” AviationWeek.com, 5-26-2016.

 

Narrative Information

ASN:

Date:                           28-JUL-1992

Time:                           19:22

Type:                           Robertson C-414

Owner/operator:          Last Days Ministries

Registration:                N110VM

Fatalities:                     Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 12

Other fatalities:           0

….

Location:                     Lindale, TX

Phase:                          Take off

Nature:                                    Private

Departure airport:        Lindale, TX

Destination airport:     Lindale, TX

 

“Narrative: [from National Transportation Safety Bureau][1]

 

“7-seat aircraft took off with 4 adults and 8 children aboard. Aircraft rotated at about 2000 feet down runway and climbed in a flat nose-high attitude before settling into 30 foot trees about 4223 feet from point of lift-off. Aircraft oscillated violently 2 or 3 times in the pitch axis during the 20-30 second flint. Aircraft was about 445 lbs over maximum gross weight and center of gravity was 4.26 inches aft of the aft limit. On 6/29/82 the pilot took a checkride to have a ‘centerline thrust only’ restriction removed from his multi-engine rating. 59 of his 62 hrs multi-engine were as copilot. He had no formal C-414 training and had received only 2 hours of instruction in conventional multi-engine aircraft. He had never been required to perform weight/balance computations in his military flying or any FAA exam or checkrides. Company management did not comply with insurance stipulations which required pilot of the flight to attend a Cessna flight training school, nor did the pilot satisfy the minimum hour requirements. FAA cert examiner lost cert on 7/10/82, history of incomplete or substandard checkrides. Occupants died of thermal burns and smoke inhalation.” (Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39435.)

 

AviationWeek.com: In the comments section of an article by Patrick Veillette entitled “Weighty Matters: Miscalculation when loading can have unwelcome consequences,” dated 5-26-2016, there is a repeat of the NTSB Brief cited above in the ASN piece. The comment also includes the NTSB Probable Cause, which we reprint:

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
“PREFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION..INADEQUATE..PILOT IN COMMAND…

“AIRCRAFT WEIGHT AND BALANCE..NOT PERFORMED..PILOT IN COMMAND

“AIRCRAFT WEIGHT AND BALANCE..EXCEEDED..PILOT IN COMMAND

“PERFORMANCE DATA..NOT UNDERSTOOD..PILOT IN COMMAND

“LIFT-OFF..PREMATURE..PILOT IN COMMAND

“OVERCONFIDENCE IN PERSONAL ABILITY..PILOT IN COMMAND

“INADEQUATE TRANSITION/UPGRADE TRAINING..COMPANY/OPERATOR MANAGEMENT

 

“Contributing Factors
“INSUFF STANDARDS/REQUIREMENTS,OPERATION/OPERATOR..COMPANY/ OPERATOR MGMT

“INADEQUATE CERTIFICATION/APPROVAL,AIRMAN..FAA(ORGANIZATION)

“PASSENGER BRIEFING..NOT PERFORMED..PILOT IN COMMAND.” (dperley comment in: Patrick Veillette. “Weight Matters: Miscalculation when loading can have unwelcome consequences.” AviationWeek.com, 5-26-2016.)

 

Newspaper

 

July 30: “Lindale (AP) — A twin-engine private plane was overloaded when it crashed at an East Texas religious commune, killing 12 people, including a gospel singer and eight children, a federal investigator said. National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator Warren V. Wandel said the Cessna 414 carried 231 pounds over its limit when it nosedived into a gully surrounded by heavy brush and trees shortly after it took off Wednesday night from an airstrip owned by the commune. Wandel said his preliminary investigation indicated the overloading contributed to the crash. It was a ‘tail-down, nose-up situation’ so the plane could not climb. ‘Both engines were generating power at impact,’ said Wandel. He estimated the plane never climbed higher than 75 to 100 feet. He said the maximum weight allowed on the aircraft would have been 6,350 pounds. But he said the plane carried 6,581 pounds and the weight was disproportionately high in the back of the aircraft. He said all the weight was passengers and fuel; no luggage was aboard. Wandel said Cessna records show six seats were on the plane, including the pilot’s and one auxiliary seat.

 

“The dead included Keith Gorden Green, a one-time gospel recording star who headed the Last Days Ministries, a commune in the rolling hills near this town and bout 90 miles east of Dallas.

 

“Wandel said the plane was traveling at about 76 knots when it clipped some 22- to 25-feet-tall trees about a quarter mile from the end of the runway. ‘It went about 150 feet and landed on its belly in the ravine. The fire happened when the tanks were scraped against the ground and ruptured,’ said Wandel. He said no structural faults were found in the plane….He said no flight plan was filed because the plane was on a sight-seeing flight and not en route to Dallas as commune officials earlier reported….

 

“Other victims included Green’s 2-year-old daughter, Bethany Grace Green, and 3-year-old son, Josiah David Green; Diedre M. Smalley, 32; her husband, John C. Smalley, 37; and their children, her son by a previous marriage, Chen Allen Hysell, 12; and their children, twins James and John Smalley, 7; Daniel Henry Smalley, 4; Timothy Neill Smalley, 3; Kathren Elizabeth Smalley, 2, all of Simi Valley, California; and pilot Don Burmeister, 36, of Lindale.” (Associated Press. “Plane overloaded before crash.” Galveston Daily News, TX, 7-30-1982, 7A.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Plane overloaded before crash.” Galveston Daily News, TX, 7-30-1982, 7A. Accessed 5-12-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-jul-30-1982-p-7/?tag

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39435. Accessed 5-12-2017 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=39435

 

dperley comment in: Patrick Veillette. “Weight Matters: Miscalculation when loading can have unwelcome consequences.” AviationWeek.com, 5-26-2016. Accessed 5-12-2017 at: http://aviationweek.com/bca/weighty-matters

 

[1] The NTSB Brief is in caps and contains many abbreviations. For readability purposes we do not transcribe in all-caps, and spell-out some abbreviations.

 

— 154  AP. “Little Rachel holds her own as doctors cover burned skin.” Galveston News, 7-26-1982, 1.

— 154  AP. “Violent winds, load…blamed for crash.” News-Herald, Franklin PA, 7-14-1982, 17.

— 154  UPI. “Service for Victims of Louisiana Plane Crash.” July 25, 1982.[1]

— 153  Associated Press. “Air Crashes in the U.S. Since 1979,” July 20, 1989.

— 153  NTSB. AAR. Pan American World Airways…Clipper 759…July 9, 1982. 3-21-1983, p. i

—    7 crewmembers

—    1 nonrevenue passenger on the cockpit jumpseat

–137 passengers

—    8 people on the ground

— 153  Sanders. The Management of Losses Arising from Extreme Events. 2002, p. 177.

 

Narrative Information

 

NTSB Synopsis: “On July 9, 1982, Pan American World Airways, Inc., Flight 759 (Clipper 759), a Boeing 727-235, N4737, was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Miami, Florida, to Las Vegas, Nevada, with an en route stop at New Orleans, Louisiana. About 1607:57 central daylight time, Clipper 759, with 7 crewmembers, 1 nonrevenue passenger on the cockpit jumpseat, and 137 passengers on board, began its takeoff from runway 10 at the New Orleans International Airport, Kenner, Louisiana.

 

“At the time of Flight 759’s takeoff, there were showers over the east end of the airport and to the east of the airport along the airplane’s intended takeoff path. The winds at the time were gusty, variable, and swirling. Clipper 759 lifted off the runway, climbed to an altitude of between 95 feet to about 150 feet above the ground, and then began to descend. The airplane struck a line of trees about 2,376 beyond the departure end of runway 10 at an altitude of about 50 feet above the ground. The airplane continued on an eastward track for another 2,234 feet hitting trees and houses and ten crashed in a residential area about 4,610 feet from the end of the runway.

 

“The airplane was destroyed during the impact, explosion, and subsequent ground fire. One hundred forty-five persons on board the airplane and 8 persons on the ground were killed in the crash. Six houses were destroyed; five houses were damaged substantially.

 

“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the airplane’s encounter during the liftoff and initial climb phase of flight with a microburst-induced wind shear which imposed a downdraft and a decreasing headwind, the effects of which the pilot would have had difficulty recognizing and reacting to in time for the airplane’s descent to be arrested before its impact with trees.

 

“Contributing to the accident was the limited capability of current ground based low level wind shear detection technology to provide definitive guidance for controllers and pilots for use in avoiding low level wind shear encounters.” (NTSB. Aircraft Accident Report. Pan American World Airways, Inc., Clipper 759, Boeing 727-235, N4737, New Orleans International Airport, Kenner, Louisiana, July 9, 1982. 3-21-1983, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Air Crashes In the U.S. Since 1979.” 7-20-1989. Accessed at:  http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5DD1E39F933A15754C0A96F948260&sec=&spon

 

Associated Press. “Little Rachel holds her own as doctors cover burned skin.” Galveston Daily News, 7-26-1982, p. 1. Accessed 5-12-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-jul-26-1982-p-1/?tag

 

Associated Press. “Violent winds, load are blamed for crash.” News-Herald, Franklin, PA, 7-14-1982, p. 17. Accessed 5-12-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/franklin-news-herald-jul-13-1982-p-33/?tag

 

National Transportation Safety Board. Aircraft Accident Report. Pan American World Airways, Inc., Clipper 759, Boeing 727-235, N4737, New Orleans International Airport, Kenner, Louisiana, July 9, 1982 (NTSB/AAR-83/02). Washington, DC: NTSB, 3-21-1983, 124 pages. Accessed 5-12-2017 at: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR8302.pdf

 

Sanders, D.E.A. (Chair), et al. The Management of Losses Arising from Extreme Events. GIRO, 2002, 261 pgs. At: http://www.actuaries.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/18729/Sanders.pdf

 

United Press International. “Service for Victims of Louisiana Plane Crash.”  July 25, 1982. At:  http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904EFD71539F936A15754C0A964948260

 

 

[1] The death toll aboard the plane was 146, including an unborn 7-month-old fetus added Tuesday by the Jefferson Parish coroner. Eight people on the ground died…” [Thus the difference between the totals of 153 and 154 have to do whether or not the unborn 7-month-old fetus is included.]

— 14  Leagle.com. “State v. Madera (13198) 210 Conn. 22 (1989).” Released 2-14-1989.

— 14  National Fire Protection Association.  The 1984 Fire Almanac.  1983, p. 138..

— 14  NFPA. The U.S. Fire Problem. Home Fires with Ten or More Fatalities (1980-2007). 2008.

— 14  Republican-American (A. Larson), Waterbury, CT. “Deadly fire remembered.” 7-5-2012.

 

Narrative Information

 

Larson (Republican-American): “Waterbury — The deadliest fire in the city’s history happened 30 years ago today. Those who responded to the frantic scene, a burning five-story apartment building at 47 Prospect St., hope that improvements to fire safety codes will prevent such a tragedy from happening again. But three decades years later, the 14 people killed in the blaze on July 5, 1982 still deserve to be remembered. ‘I just don’t want those people to be forgotten,’ said Marty Egan, then a police detective assigned to the fire marshal’s office. ‘It’s something I’ll never forget as long as I live.’ He recalled spending weeks sifting through rubble, trying to identify victims. Police and fire officials determined that the blaze killed at least 14 people, but a full accounting was difficult because most tenants spoke only Spanish and many were away for the holiday. More than 100 people were inside the building at the time.

 

“The fire was the result of arson. Police caught Israel Madera as he fled from the scene. He was later convicted of arson murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Police at the time said he set the fire after a dispute with a relative. The relative at whom the fire was targeted survived. Madera died in prison in December 2006, at the age of 54, just one year before the 25th anniversary of the disaster.

 

“Egan, who said the fire was one of the worst in the city’s history, said residents of the apartment had blockaded their back doors to prevent burglaries. Many ended up trapped.

 

“Also, the building lacked smoke detectors, sprinklers, an alarm system and other safety measures that would have kept the fire from spreading as quickly. And there was no elevator. Egan said the city has “absolutely” learned lessons from the fire, and has since strengthened fire codes and beefed up enforcement. Some of the changes have been made at the local level; others are state laws. Now, all high-rise apartments are required to have fire sprinkler and alarm systems, he said….At the time, he said, police, fire and health inspections occurred less frequently – usually only after someone made a complaint. Now, those inspections are done on a regular basis, he said. Also, he credits a change in people’s mindset toward smoke detectors….” (Republican-American (Andrew Larson), Waterbury, CT. “Deadly fire remembered.” 7-5-2012.)

 

Sources

 

Leagle.com. “State v. Madera (13198) 210 Conn. 22 (1989).” Released 2-14-1989. Accessed 5-11-2017 at: http://www.leagle.com/decision/1989232210Conn22_1230/STATE%20v.%20MADERA

 

National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.

 

National Fire Protection Association. The U.S. Fire Problem. “Home Fires with Ten or More Fatalities (1980-2007).” Quincy, MA:  NFPA, April 2008 update. Accessed at:  http://www.nfpa.org:80/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=953&itemID=30981&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/The%20U.S.%20fire%20problem

 

Republican-American (Andrew Larson), Waterbury, CT. “Deadly fire remembered.” 7-5-2012. Accessed 5-11-2017 at: http://archives.rep-am.com/2012/07/05/deadly-fire-remembered/