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. Flight Departure Times. 2918.5'N, Long. If you have a couple of minutes, we'd like to collect your feedback on it. * Boeing 727-235 But even then there would be no point in destroying the plane or himself. The flight departed Miami at 2212[1] and landed at Tampa at 2300. A considerable amount of the floating debris also exhibited signs of burning but only above waterlines. This new story was made public in 1963. He kept checking his watch, his ex-wife later said, and looked anxious to leave". He was arrested for assault and battery for his wife in 1971. Initially, there was some speculation based on the fact that a noted Chicago mobster--Ellis Itchy Mandel--was on the flight. 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. Suddenly his strange behavior all made sense to her--her hapless ex-husband was a puppet, under Dr Spearss spell. All 42 occupants perished. According to the Senior Passenger Agent for National Airlines, there were no established procedures in 1959 for determining if a reporting passenger was the same person for whom the reservation was made. As has been detailed, the fire marks on bodies and on debris were of the type caused exclusively by a flash surface fire, probably both hot and brief, upon impact with the water. 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. The aircraft was airworthy at the time of departure and had an adequate amount of fuel. That crash remains officially unexplained also. The flight originated in Miami at 10:22 PM the previous evening, landed at Tampa at 11:00 PM, and departed for New Orleans at 11:22 PM. At 0014, while between Crab and NL1, the flight received the 0600 New Orleans weather from National Flight968, which was: "M700 overcast; 2-1/2 miles visibility; very light drizzle; fog; temperature 54; dewpoint 52; wind northeast 3; altimeter 30.14; ceiling ragged; obstruction lights out of service; see NOTAMS.". The mafia? None of this disclosed conclusive evidence as to the genesis of the accident. Although sabotage was suspected, no definite cause of the crash was determined. List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft 1919 In the investigation of the January 6 crash of a National Airlines DC-6B, agents are inquiring into indications that a lawyer, Mr. Julian Frank, might have blown up the plane killing himself and 33 . AA967 Flight Tracker - Track the real-time flight status of American Airlines AA 967 live using the FlightStats Global Flight Tracker. To me it just doesnt add up that Spears is going to tell his best friend of many decades, a man with essentially no history of violence, to take on this package like its Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.. 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. Logan points out that much of the public demonization of Spears resulted from the fact that he performed abortions--something that is viewed very differently in todays political discourse. Investigators found less than 1% of its structural components and no conclusive evidence that a bomb was used. In fact, it was revealed that Spears was facing charges for performing abortions--which was illegal at the time, and had been set to stand trial on December 3, 1959. From January27 through30, 1960, and from February2 through5, 1960, the VIGOR and PENGUIN made four dives on the bottom sonar contact obtained by the VIGOR on January 10, 1960. In the weeks after the crash, the mystery of Flight 967 deepened. 8839'W. Police seriously looked into the possibility that Al Taylor may still be alive, even working with Mexican law enforcement to explore the possibility that he had fled south of the border. but he would have had to have done some rushing to get aboard the plane because it taxied away at 12:25 am. Spear's activities in order to determine whether they might have had a bearing upon the accident. The day before the fateful flight, Taylor had visited his ex-wife Alice Steel Taylor at her home, looking for their adult son Junior, who wasnt home. Lt. James L. Sigman, executive officer of the Coast Guard air detachment at New Orleans, said the wreckage was spread over a comparatively small area of two to three miles. National Airlines Flight 967 - Wikipedia The FBI discovered there was much more to the kindly old Dr Spears than met the eye. At 00:55 the aircraft suddenly crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Accident; Date: November 16, 1959: Summary: In-flight explosion (Bombing suspected, but not proven) Site: Gulf of Mexico National Airlines Flight 967 - Wikiwand It was determined that Taylor had boarded the flight using a ticket issued for Spears. After he left, he phoned again three times, again asking for Junior. Mrs Taylor recalled that Dr Spears had held an unnatural sway over her former husband. Spears immediately said he had made the whole thing up after the reporter had pressured him to tell him something new. Search and rescue facilities were activated and the Coast Guard had search aircraft and surface craft in the suspect area before daylight. Quickly purchase historical reports delivered via email. According to the Nov. 17, 1959, edition of the New York Times, I. W. Dymond, vice president of operations for the airline, said the weather "was anticipated, but it was not a factor" in the crash. November 16, 1959: National Airlines Flight 967 on a flight from Tampa, Florida to New Orleans crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. NTSB: FedEx plane was only 150 feet off ground when disaster was 8837.3'W. There was nothing immediately remarkable about Dr Spears. 2910'N, and Long. Thats another good one if youre not already familiar with it. Julian Andrew Frank | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers "We don't get newspapers out here, he told reporters. Pan Am paid too high a price for National, and was ill prepared to integrate National's domestic route network with Pan Am's own globe-girdling international network. Though no longer married to Al Taylor, Alice later told reporters they had been amicably divorced, and were still close. 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". One of these was not aboard, although a final passenger count showed 36passengers upon departure from Tampa. 1959 Chronology of Aviation History - Skytamer Geo resource failed to load. We work hard to keep our advertising relevant and unobtrusive to create a great experience. [] The final ruling was probable severe turbulence.. 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. By using and further navigating this website, you accept this. On November 16, 1959, an airplane vanished over the Gulf of Mexico, with 42 people onboard. From January 9, 1960 to January 15, 1960, the U.S.S. He moved to California and took up hypnotism, his business was with a doctor performing abortions (which were then illegal in the U.S.). His wife, who had recently given birth to twins, even collected a partial payout from his $120,000 life insurance policy. 18cm Wingspan approx. Round-trip. Disaster Medicine: Bomb on Board Airliner, Explodes, Crashes near Taylor apparently then he called his boss at the tire company and asked for the next day off work. Ronald Reagan National Airport. Probably one of the most intriguing cases Ive read here, what a great write up OP! Divers established that the contact was a sunken ship. 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. He had become financially successful in Texas as a . Incredible write-up! In 1964, it became the first exclusively jet powered service in the United States, and by 1970 became the third airline to offer transcontinental passenger flights. 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. It was founded in 1934 as a Florida-based airline. That was before Spears was found in Arizona with Taylors car. Explosive decompression makes a plane crash look like the plane was blown up with a large bomb, but minus any larger pieces of wreckage as well as explosive residue proving it. Track American Airlines (AA) #967 flight from Austin-Bergstrom Intl to Dallas-Fort Worth Intl. What a tangled web. Frank was covered by $900,000 in life insurance policies at the time of his death, and had also been under investigation for corruption. I was completely drawn in. St. Petersburg Times. And just a freak coincidence that a couple of conmen just happened to have a ticket? Air Methods. The flight release Tampa-New Orleans was in accordance with the Civil Air Regulations and NAL procedures. * Douglas DC-6 There injuries indicated that all nine persons had been seated at the time the aircraft struck the water. 185 Martha Lunken Flies Under Bridge, Loses Certificates; EZWxBrief App After not hearing from Taylor for a few days, and discovering he had not showed up for work, Alice became worried. Texas International walked away from their foiled attempt with a multi-million dollar stock profit and was poised for Lorenzo's next venturesa startup airline in the high-density East coast corridor (New York Air), and subsequent acquisition of Continental Airlines. Contact Us. ", Tampa International Airport, FL (TPA/KTPA), New Orleans International Airport, LA (MSY/KMSY), Accident investigation report completed and information captured, 57 km (35.6 mls) E off Pilottown, LA [Gulf of Mexico] (. Curiously, Al Taylor had recently been reported missing. As he was leaving the courthouse after his first hearing, he was observed to be whistling.