63rd anniversary

This May 22nd marks the 63rd anniversary of the Flight 11 tragedy -LEST WE FORGET. ✈️

Continental Flight 11 website

 It is with great interest and pleasure that I can announce there has been an amazing website launched regarding Flight 11 by a young Australian author & historian, Diana Bowman. Diana has meticulously researched a number of aspects of Flight 11 and turned up some amazing information on the victims, the plane itself and exhaustive information from the time. The website link as per below. I must commend Diana for her humanitarian spirit and her natural curiosity regarding the crash. 

https://www.dianarcher.org/

62nd Anniversary

 This May 22nd 2024 marks the 62nd anniversary of the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 11.

Lest we forget.  

Disaster at 39,000 feet

 A new book has been published by Iowa based author Enfys McMurray. The title "disaster at 39,000 feet", offers a spellbinding account of what happened that night and the reader is left fully immersed in the tragic unfolding of events that May night in 1962. Currently available on Amazon.

 

61 years

 This May 22nd marks 61 years since the downing of Flight 11. -Lest we forget. 

Missouri Life article for 60th anniversary

 Hi folks, I hadn't seen this article till now which appeared in Missouri Life last year for the 60th anniversary of Flight 11 by Dan Steinbeck. See link for the article. 

https://missourilife.com/the-crash-of-flight-11/

60 years...

 This May 22nd marks 60 years since Continental Airlines Flight 11 took to the skies only to result in tragedy. As this is a significant anniversary in terms of years, the impacts of Flight 11 still affect people just as badly as they did when the crash occurred and any anniversary naturally will always be "significant" to anyone involved. It is still my intention to update this blog every year as long as I'm alive. 

Andrew Russell. 

60th anniversary

 It has come to my attention that Maribeth DeHaven of the Putnam county historical society is hosting a 60th anniversary luncheon on May 22nd this year.  She can be contacted for further details as follows:

beth007@nemr.net

59th anniversary

 This May 22nd marks the 59th anniversary of the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 11.  Since the last post in 2020 the world has seen much upheaval caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. I do hope all of you are safe and healthy in these difficult times. 

58th anniversary

This May 22nd marks the 58th anniversary of the tragedy of Continental Airlines Flight 11.

A concurrent tragedy

It has been brought to my attention by an Iowa -based writer that around the same time as the crash of Flight 11 there was also another unhappy tragedy unfolding in the rural Heartland of the USA. On May 27th, 1962, a man named Gayno Smith murdered five persons (his Uncle and his Uncle's family) in a farm house at Hedrick, Iowa. He was later found by a posse from the Appanoose County Sheriff's office. Over 100 men were part of the manhunt which was already weary from the aftermath of the crash of Flight 11.

They found Gayno hiding out in a barn at Lake Wapello, Iowa which is coincidentally where a lot of wreckage from Flight 11 was found just days earlier. Also near Lake Wapello is the rural town of Unionville, Iowa not to be confused with Unionville, Missouri.

57th anniversary

This May 22nd marks 57 years since the bombing and crash of Continental Airlines Flight 11.

-Lest We Forget. 

Article from Christchurch Press, New Zealand

This article was sent to me and is from my home country's Christchurch Press. Not sure of the date but it is still a developing story. Of particular note is how the investigators are still on their way to the scene.

NZ Herald Article on Flight 11

I have found an article dated May 24, 1962 New Zealand time (ie May 23 1962 US time) from the New Zealand Herald, Auckland's newspaper.

It includes a quote from a Continental Airlines spokesman that they hoped the aircraft may have landed somewhere but also says there was wreckage found. It seems as if it was written in a hurry as information was still coming in. Nevertheless it's the first time I've seen any mention of Flight 11 in my local (New Zealand-based) press.

second edition of paperback The Missouri Crash

Owing to several typographical errors in the first edition of The Missouri Crash paperback edition I am republishing a second edition to fix these. Despite extensive proofreading I am afraid to say Amazon were not as diligent in some aspects. The new edition should be out by Jan 1 2019.

The Missouri Crash hard copy paperback now available

The hard copy paperback edition of "The Missouri Crash" is now available on Amazon.com

N70775 reused

The N series registration of the 707 operating as Flight 11, N70775, was reused between 2005 and 2007 on a Bell 206B helicopter. The helicopter was subsequently cancelled from the register in 2007 when it was sold to Colombia. 

70,000 views

This blog has reached another milestone, over 70,000 views since its inception in 2007.

The Missouri Crash Second Edition

Within days of publishing my book "The Missouri Crash" I have noticed a couple of errors despite exhaustive proof reading by different parties.

I have re-published the book with these errors corrected.

Russell Wolfe

The family of Flight 11 passenger Russell Wolfe visited Unionville recently and were shown around the town by Ronnie Cook. They visited the Putnam County museum . Prior to their 2018 visit they were unaware of the memorial or the services held in 2010 and 2012 . Many thanks to Maribeth deHaven for letting me know of their visit. Yet again another family has hopefully found a sense of closure all these years later.