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441:, picked up the flight at 12:46 AM. Flight 967 was an interchange flight between three carriers; through plane service from Miami to Los Angeles. National Airlines operated the first two legs between Miami and Tampa, and Tampa and New Orleans. Delta Air Lines was scheduled to operate the flight between New Orleans, and its next stop, Dallas, TX, where American Airlines was to take over and operate the same aircraft from Dallas nonstop to Los Angeles. Interchange flights like this were fairly common before the CAB awarded more direct routes beginning with the Southeast to West Coast case in 1961. The aircraft being used this particular day was a Delta Air Lines DC-7B.
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523:. A hypothesis arose that Spears, who had befriended Taylor in prison, tricked Taylor into boarding the flight with a piece of luggage containing a bomb. 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. 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. Spears disappeared after the accident but was arrested in
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at New
Orleans, said the wreckage was spread over a comparatively small area of two to three miles. This indicated to him that the explosion took place after the plane hit the water. But two Air Force fliers who spent four hours over the scene said because the wreckage was so scattered it seemed to them the plane exploded in the air."
527:, with Taylor's car in January, 1960. He was charged with unlawful possession of an automobile, for which he was convicted and received the maximum sentence of five years. Due to a lack of evidence, was never charged in the alleged bombing of Flight 967. Spears died in Baylor Medical Center, Dallas on May 2, 1969 of
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Monday with 42 persons aboard? If there was, did it come before or after the crash? Members of the party hunting in the shark-infested waters for bodies believe there was an explosion. But they don't agree on when it occurred. Lt. James L. Sigman, executive officer of the Coast Guard air detachment
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Capt. Frank E. Todd of Miami, the pilot, radioed his last message at 12:44 a.m. He reported a "smooth flight" and unlimited visibility, but said he could see a solid overcast of fog ahead. He was cleared by the New
Orleans Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC - ZNO) located in the terminal
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station at New
Orleans, said the plane might have exploded when it struck the water. The bodies were stripped of clothing and revealed severe burns, he said. He added that the passengers apparently had no warning to don lifebelts, as only one life preserver was found among the debris.
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It continued on a track of 296 degrees magnetic for a few minutes, then turned right to a heading of approximately 010 degrees and disappeared from the scope at 12:51 AM. At 1:16 AM, company radio attempted to contact Flight 967 to no avail; attempts by
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building at New
Orleans Lakefront Airport to descend to and maintain 5,000 feet and to report leaving 8,000 feet. This air traffic control instruction/clearance was issued through National Airlines' radio station/office at
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at 10:22 PM the previous evening, landed at Tampa at 11:00 PM, and departed for New
Orleans at 11:22 PM. The last radio contact with the flight was at 12:44 AM, when the flight contacted company radio in New Orleans.
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were unable to raise the flight. 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
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speculated in its Nov. 17, 1959, edition that the aircraft may have been brought down by a bomb: "Was there an explosion aboard the
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Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1950s
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An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory, including
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One passenger, William Taylor, had boarded the flight using a ticket issued to
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542:) did not find a probable cause for the accident due to the lack of evidence.
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Civil
Aeronautics Board Aircraft Accident Report on Flight 967
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Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1959
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List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
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en route facilities, New
Orleans Approach Control, and
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In-flight explosion (Bombing suspected, but not proven)
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A Delta
Airlines DC-7, similar to the accident aircraft
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Aviation accidents and incidents in the
Atlantic Ocean
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from the Department of Transport's Special Collections
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National Airlines (1934–1980) accidents and incidents
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Airliner accidents and incidents in the United States
1561:Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-7
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594:Robert Spears, 1959 bomb suspect, dies in Dallas
519:, a convicted criminal working at the time as a
476:According to the Nov. 17, 1959, edition of the
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92:introducing citations to additional sources
856:Clear Lake crash ("The Day the Music Died")
53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
1601:Unsolved mass murders in the United States
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241:
1606:November 1959 events in the United States
223:Learn how and when to remove this message
205:Learn how and when to remove this message
1498:Braniff International Airways Flight 542
168:This article includes a list of general
82:Relevant discussion may be found on the
1322:MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash
1571:Airliner bombings in the United States
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423:
1381:United States Air Force Flight 441/13
1122:Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501
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753:
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1445:Westover Air Force Base KC-135 crash
1116:Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307
482:instrument meteorological conditions
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59:
18:
437:operators at a military station at
400:aircraft that disappeared over the
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1363:Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2
1134:Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash
174:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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1375:Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 304
1016:Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 202
602:
34:This article has multiple issues.
1181:Continental Charters Flight 44-2
946:Transair Douglas Dakota accident
826:Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 205
782:Aviation accidents and incidents
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159:
75:relies largely or entirely on a
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581:Federal Aviation Administration
337:(on an interchange flight with
42:or discuss these issues on the
1369:Grand Canyon mid-air collision
876:Turkish Airlines Gatwick crash
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103:"National Airlines Flight 967"
1:
1516:Allegheny Airlines Flight 371
1468:Southeast Airlines Flight 308
1451:Northeast Airlines Flight 258
1416:Northeast Airlines Flight 285
1410:Northeast Airlines Flight 823
1198:American Airlines Flight 6780
1157:Cubana de Aviación Flight 493
1128:Myrtle Beach USAF C-46D crash
1026:Allegheny Airlines Flight 371
806:Southeast Airlines Flight 308
655:National Airlines (1934–1980)
562:
1510:National Airlines Flight 967
1504:Piedmont Airlines Flight 349
1492:American Airlines Flight 514
1480:American Airlines Flight 320
1398:American Airlines Flight 327
1328:American Airlines Flight 476
1304:American Airlines Flight 711
1292:Cincinnati mid-air collision
1269:American Airlines Flight 723
1251:National Airlines Flight 470
1216:American Airlines Flight 910
1204:National Airlines Flight 101
996:National Airlines Flight 967
986:Piedmont Airlines Flight 349
936:American Airlines Flight 514
846:American Airlines Flight 320
507:B liner that crashed in the
390:National Airlines Flight 967
236:National Airlines Flight 967
7:
1439:Capital Airlines Flight 300
1340:United Air Lines Flight 629
1334:United Air Lines Flight 409
1169:United Air Lines Flight 615
1163:United Air Lines Flight 610
1151:National Airlines Flight 83
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10:
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1596:Unsolved airliner bombings
1486:Capital Airlines Flight 75
1433:Capital Airlines Flight 67
1257:Delta Air Lines Flight 318
896:Capital Airlines Flight 75
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1404:Pacoima mid-air collision
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1222:Mount Gannett C-124 crash
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1533:This list is incomplete.
886:Air Charter Turkey crash
494:Clearfield, Pennsylvania
613:Aviation Safety Network
577:"FAA Registry (N4891C)"
536:Civil Aeronautics Board
189:more precise citations.
1474:The Day the Music Died
1234:Moses Lake C-124 crash
16:1959 aviation accident
906:Pan Am Clipper Panama
1316:Pan Am Flight 845/26
1263:USMC R4Q NROTC crash
816:Lufthansa Flight 502
609:Accident description
538:(predecessor of the
517:Robert Vernon Spears
463:Pilottown, Louisiana
88:improve this article
1586:Mass murder in 1959
1543:prior to statehood.
1522:San Diego F3H crash
1224:(November 22 1952)*
1064:► 1960
1058:1958 ◄
1046:Aeroflot Flight 120
1036:San Diego F3H crash
1006:Aeroflot Flight 315
976:Aeroflot Flight 200
926:Okinawa F-100 crash
836:Aeroflot Flight 205
529:coronary thrombosis
459:air traffic control
424:Details of accident
295: /
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1310:Hawaii R6D-1 crash
1230:(November 28 1952)
1210:Pan Am Flight 526A
1183:(December 29 1951)
1177:(December 16 1951)
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966:Braniff Flight 542
447:Pensacola, Florida
320:Aircraft type
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396:N4891C, was a
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195:September 2021
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144:September 2021
86:. Please help
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1447:(June 1958)
1371:(June 1956)
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1124:(June 1950)
708:Flight 2511
486:Coast Guard
471:Coast Guard
414:New Orleans
302: /
187:introducing
1555:Categories
1488:(May 1959)
1441:(May 1958)
1259:(May 1953)
720:Flight 193
702:Flight 967
696:Flight 470
690:Flight 101
563:References
521:naturopath
372:Fatalities
356:Passengers
170:references
114:newspapers
39:improve it
714:Flight 27
684:Flight 83
678:Flight 16
671:incidents
418:Louisiana
380:Survivors
84:talk page
45:talk page
741:Category
546:See also
498:Progress
473:divers.
331:Operator
315:Aircraft
253:Accident
786: (
784:in 1959
662:History
611:at the
410:Florida
290:86°20′W
287:28°34′N
266:Summary
183:improve
128:scholar
1541:Hawaii
1537:Alaska
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812:Jan 11
722:(1978)
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351:N4891C
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435:Radar
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412:, to
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135:JSTOR
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1539:and
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