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.

The Missouri Crash , a Kindle book

My book titled "the Missouri Crash" is now available on the Kindle books site via amazon.com
Self publishing was the only way forward with the project and I've been sitting on the manuscript since 2013.

Newspaper article on briefcase & CAB investigation

In this article I found in my files it states how the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board) were closing in on the briefcase, the right rear lavatory and the explosion theory. No source for the article sadly so I apologize in advance if that has been published elsewhere.

Missouri State Death Records online

Apologies for those of you who may have already done a web search over the years however the Missouri Digital Heritage collection, via the John R. Ashcroft website (current Secretary of State for Missouri) , has the online death certificates for 44 of the 45 passengers and crew board Flight 11.

They are PDF files and some information has deliberately been blanked out due to its content. However for anyone interested follow the link

https://s1.sos.mo.gov/Records/Archives/ArchivesMvc/

Once there simply enter the search criteria either by month/year or name etc.

2018 Aircrash Confidential

This link was sent to me by a member of the Hamilton family whose father died aboard Flight 11. It also features an interview with Ronnie Cook of Unionville, MO. the episode centres around a crash in Canada in 1985 but has a significant chunk looking back at sabotages , namely, Flight 11. There are a few inaccuracies and liberal artistic licence but there is footage and graphics I've certainly not seen before . Link as follows: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6q5sfx

56th anniversary

This May 22nd marks the 56th anniversary of the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 11 just nor-northwest of Unionville, Missouri in Putnam County.
- Lest We Forget .

Boeing 707

In March I was fortunate to be able to finally step onto a Boeing 707 . I did this at the Reagan Library just outside of Los Angeles . Here, Reagan's Air Force One sits on display and you can walk through it . This particular Air Force One was used from the time of President Nixon in 1972 through to 2001 when it was retired by then President George W. Bush. I was astounded by the sheer size and solid build of the aircraft which I hadn't seen in person before. It truly was an amazing sight . I would like to thank Kathryn Hamilton a million times for taking me to the museum .

Takehiko Nakano

I have had contact from the Japanese-based family of the lone survivor (initially) of Continental Airlines Flight 11. His brother, Masahiko Nakano, emailed me a few days ago to thank me and all else involved for helping to honour Takehiko's memory. I am very grateful for him having contacted me and filling in another "missing piece" of Flight 11. From what I gather Masahiko's grand-daughter has a friend who is interested in researching aircraft accidents and like me, stumbled upon Flight 11 quite by accident. 

55th anniversary

This May 22nd marks the 55th anniversary of the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 11. It also marks the tenth anniversary of my direct involvement in the memorial and subsequent communications with family members and with the late Mr Duane Crawford of Unionville ,Mo. This man was instrumental in getting the memorial off the ground and in arranging everything for the memorial services to honour those who died that fateful night.


Continental Flight 11-lest we forget .

Aurora Continental 707 model.

An avid airplane model collector has contacted me with a stunning piece of information regarding a model 707 produced in 1962. See photo attached of the box. The model is in the same colour scheme as Flight 11 and carries the rego of sister ship N70773. Interesting that they produced these models and that some are still extant. Apparently the model was discontinued in 1962, possibly because of the crash of Flight 11. Anyone with any more info don't hesitate to contact. Otherwise an interesting looking model and something I was not aware of!

Flight 11 memorial now on google maps

It has come to my attention that the flight 11 memorial now features on google maps as an historical landmark. See photo attached