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.