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. From March3 through13,1960, the U.S.S. The flight had been on its way from Tampa, Florida, to New Orleans. Crew qualifications and experience were amply high in all respects and an investigation disclosed no irregularity in this connection. All 42 occupants perished. 03 hrs 40 mins . They had been divorced longer than she claimed, and the divorce had been far from amicable. Mrs Spears said that when he came to see her, Spears was sad about Taylors death. It was founded in 1934 as a Florida-based airline. arrow_forward Literature guides Concept explainers Writing guide Popular textbooks Popular high school textbooks Popular Q&A Business Accounting Economics Finance Leadership Management Marketing Operations Management Engineering Bioengineering Chemical Engineering Civil Engineering Computer Engineering Computer Science Electrical Engineering . According to Junior, Taylor was carrying over $600 in cash--a lot of money at the time, especially for a man in serious debt. 65 years old at the time of the crash, he had been the national secretary of the National Association of Naturopathic Physicians and the head of the Texas Naturopath Association. Quickly purchase historical reports delivered via email. Some of the bodies showed distinct evidence of burning on portions exposed above their waterlines. Details of accident. Meanwhile she campaigned in the courts to have him declared legally dead (which would give her son access to the life insurance money). None of these nine persons had been subjected to fire or smoke before death, as demonstrated by low carboxyhemoglobin levels in blood and tissue. 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. She had never liked Spears. Consultative detailed and customized flight tracking data reports. For weeks Dr Spears was mourned along with the rest of the victims. Mrs Spears? Without an aircraft, this was no easy task. At 00:55 the aircraft suddenly crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Grapples were used and a variety of objects were recovered but none could be related to the aircraft. After forging several checks, he had skipped town and completely abandoned his first family. Our global headquarters is situated in Orlando FL, with several operational hubs across the globe in Buffalo NY, Chicago IL, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid, Dubai, Djibouti, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai. - May 1, 1961, Antulio Ramirez Ortiz hijacks a National Airlines flight from Miami International Airport to Cuba. 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. In this case, the plane likely suffered the same fate. The unplanned water landing caught everyone . Revenue passenger traffic in millions of passenger-miles National Airlines Flight 967. In 1954 before this case, England lost several planes to it within months of each other, thanks to metal fatigue causing the decompressions. Suicide by a passenger holding large life insurance policies was the probable cause. PROBABLE CAUSE: "Because of the lack of physical evidence, the probable cause of this accident is unknown. The 9 they found were likely ejected from the plane through a large opening during the deconpression, while the rest were blown to bits. But this investigation led nowhere. You can help us keep FlightAware free by allowing ads from FlightAware.com. However, the search party aboard the National Convair had decided that the last known radar position (2913'N, 8840'W) should be searched first. These were determined, the aircraft were spiralled down to the same site, and the bearings were radioed to the Coast Guard and plotted on their charts as 2907'N and 8833'W. Taylors son Junior dismissed the story. Taylor's not going to let himself get talked into something as crazy as getting on a plane that's about to blow up. 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". Weather conditions in the area were poor, which meant that the crew had . He felt he had been a burden and it was a chance to free us of that burden.. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. 1 adult. This appeared to be bits of upholstery, sound deadening material, and white objects like sponge rubber pillows encased in plastic envelopes. No seat belt abrasions were found. And that they happened to know a seedy lawyer who (allegedly) blew himself up a month later? Length approx. - November 16, 1959, a DC-7B flown on an interchange route with Delta Air Lines, in a Delta aircraft but with a NAL crew National Airlines Flight 967, en route from Tampa to New Orleans, disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico. Taylor had also been married before his marriage to Alice. Streaming flight data feed for enterprise integrations with real-time, historical and predictive flight data. The second radar station at Houma, Louisiana, picked up the flight at 0046, on track and at 14,000feet altitude. FlightAware provides accurate real-time, historical and predictive flight insights to all segments of the And just a freak coincidence that a couple of conmen just happened to have a ticket? National Airlines was a United States airline that operated from 1934 to 1980. The agent's attention was drawn elsewhere, however, and he never noticed if the man boarded the flight or not. An oil slick estimated to be a mile long and possibly 400yards in width ran in a north-south direction. 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. At this time the flight also contacted New Orleans company radio confirming the ATC clearance and reporting the weather to be CAVU with low solid (undercast) to the WNW. He kept checking his watch, his ex-wife later said, and looked anxious to leave". - October 5, 1945, a Lockheed Lodestar crashed into a lake in Lakeland, Florida with two fatalities. At that time there was also very little airport security. 2910'N, and Long. 967 (NASA967) 01-Mar-2023 (KEFD . This position is about 108miles east-southeast of New Orleans, about 30miles east of Pilottown, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, and very nearly on the planned course. He needed to get the dynamite from Tulsa to Dallas. Sometimes with these mysteries that were so long ago it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the victims were people who were loved and cared for by many. We have been unable to find any such relationship. The point of fade from the scope was normal and within correlation limits. Letters between the two men, which Mrs Taylor believed to be evidence of a skilful manipulation by Dr Spears, could also simply indicate a strong friendship. Accordingly, communications between Coast Guard surface vessels and the National Airlines Convair were relayed by Coast Guard aircraft. A B D Yes, they help protect natural wonders No, the National Park Service is a waste of federal funding Yes, national parks provided recreational activities and environmental education No, national parks should return the land to indigenous Americans It's possible it was not a direct flight, and the next leg would have been from NO to Dallas. Round-trip. Robert Vernon Spears (June 26, 1894 May 2, 1969) was a naturopath who is alleged to have placed a bomb aboard National Airlines Flight 967, an aircraft that went missing over the Gulf of Mexico on November 16, 1959, killing 42 people. Please note . - February 14, 1953, a DC-6 crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off Mobile, AL. The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by: National Airlines Flight 967 took off from Tampa (TPA) at 23:32 for a flight to New Orleans (MSY) at FL140. We work hard to keep our advertising relevant and unobtrusive to create a great experience. Boeing. Spears died in Baylor Medical Center, Dallas on May 2, 1969 of coronary thrombosis. 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. PENGUIN assisted on November24 and on the following day made sonar contact at position 2916.4N, 8836.7'W. [citation needed], Spears was eventually arrested in Phoenix after being turned in by the ex-wife a fellow naturopath in Arizona. A problem was discovered (broken window . Associate Procurement Agent. We know he was at the airport that night, at 12:16 am. This is the last known radio contact with Flight967. Shortly thereafter a Coast Guard helicopter arrived. Charts used during the several searches, with search areas well delineated, were coordinated within the various agencies to preclude duplicative and omissive effort. By all accounts, he was in financial difficulties, and had many debts. All 42 on board were presumed killed in the incident. 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. Water temperatures in the vicinity of the crash were 70 degrees or more. 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. As Mrs Spears described it, "He saw an opportunity to leave me and the babies with some financial security. Departure from Tampa, with the same crew, was at 2332. Bombs Indicated in Two Air Disasters Monday, Dec 2 2013 . Low frequency bearings were then taken on Grand Isle, on the New Orleans Range Station, and on the Mobile "H" facility, also from 14,000feet altitude. OP, thank you for your work on this, especially noting the numerous sources you cited. Throughout this observation the radar scope indicated no other object. I think the plane crashing was more or less a red herring in this case. Cooper? Though no longer married to Al Taylor, Alice later told reporters they had been amicably divorced, and were still close. As he said in a recent interview: "The more that I learned through the research about Spears, even though this guy had an incredibly profound criminal past [] he never had any history of violence at all. Thanks for writing this all up. 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. The bodies were stripped of clothing and revealed severe burns, he said. The FBI got involved. All employment decisions are made without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, disability, military leave or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Aviation accidents and incidents in 1978 () Jan 1 Air India Flight 855; Divers established that the contact was a sunken ship. November 10 of 1958, National became the first airline to introduce domestic jet service in the United States, with a flight between Miami 's international airport and Idlewild International Airport in New York. . Join to view profile. The flight departed Miami at 2212[1] and landed at Tampa at 2300. 04:35. All 42 on board were presumed killed in the incident. Spears had a long history of crime, having been arrested 17 times under 14 different aliases. A few moments before the departure of Flight967 from Tampa, Taylor purchased a flight insurance policy in the amount of $37,500 from a coin-operated machine at Tampa International Airport making his son the beneficiary and showing his destination as Dallas, Texas. Of all the prison terms he served, he never had a single infraction of violence. The weather conditions were good. All 42 occupants perished. Although sabotage was suspected, no definite cause of the crash was determined. [1][2][3] In February 1960, Spears was convicted of interstate transportation of a stolen car (Taylor's Plymouth). For 3-1/2 to 4minutes the flight continued on a normal track of approximately 296 degrees magnetic. and then hurry away, accidentally forgetting your luggage. 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. Upon his arrest in Arizona, the FBI charged him with transporting a stolen vehicle beyond state lines. A considerable amount of the floating debris also exhibited signs of burning but only above waterlines. Coast Guard and civil surface craft immediately searched the area exhaustively and retrieved everything sighted. The only noteworthy observation from the gate agent in Tampa was "a man in a brown or tan suit, carrying a newspaper but no luggage, hurrying toward the Flight 967 gate right at closing time". The condition of the bodies and wreckage all fit too-- the plane ends up in tiny pieces (basically whatever floats).
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