Some twelve to fifteen minutes later a Coast Guard aircraft arrived and dropped smoke markers. She told them all about her missing husband and his missing pink Plymouth, which sparked a nationwide search. From March3 through13,1960, the U.S.S. All 42 occupants perished. For 3-1/2 to 4minutes the flight continued on a normal track of approximately 296 degrees magnetic. A considerable amount of the floating debris also exhibited signs of burning but only above waterlines. [] for all those decades and all the different things they got up to. . The aircraft was airworthy at the time of departure and had an adequate amount of fuel. The industry standard flight tracking platform for business aviation (BA) owners and operators. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. The National crew consisted of Captain Frank Eugene Todd, Copilot Dick Sheridan Beebee, Flight Engineer George Henry Clark, Jr., Stewardesses Patricia Ann Hires and Donna Jean Osburn, and additional crew member Jack Atkinson of the Federal Aviation Agency. November 16, 1959: National Airlines Flight 967 on a flight from Tampa, Florida to New Orleans crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. 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.. History. OP, thank you for your work on this, especially noting the numerous sources you cited. Taylor's not going to let himself get talked into something as crazy as getting on a plane that's about to blow up. Citing reports that Spears may have gone to Yuma while hiding out in Arizona, Logan notes, At that time the long US-Mexico border to the west and south of Yuma was largely unpatrolled.. * Douglas DC-4 Flight data API with on-demand flight status and flight tracking data. 2912.3'N, Long. He asked her not to tell Junior this. Turska claimed that once he found out about the plane crash fiasco, he immediately told Spears to leave, and then went straight to see his attorney. Turska? At 00:55 the aircraft suddenly crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. A check by the company at this time showed that FAA, New Orleans Approach Control, and ARTC were also out of contact with Flight967. * Douglas DC-8-21/31/32/51/54/61 Mr Taylor would need to have put just $1.50 into that machine to secure that $37,500 insurance policy (equivalent to more than $300,000 today).]. To have a definitive answer I would have to do research that I am far too tired for at the moment, but I wanted to relay what little information I could think of before I passed out and forgot to come back and do it. There is little or no physical evidence upon which to explain this accident. On November 16, 1959, an airplane vanished over the Gulf of Mexico, with 42 people onboard. Spears said Taylor was going to fly to Dallas and that he would drive the car, but flight 967 was going to New Orleans not Dallas? Taylor would fly and Spears would drive. The National crew consisted of Captain Frank Eugene Todd, Copilot Dick . Aviation Accident Report: National Airlines Flight 967, Aviation Accident Report: National Airlines Flight 967 Report. He felt he had been a burden and it was a chance to free us of that burden.. Track American Airlines (AA) #967 flight from Austin-Bergstrom Intl to Dallas-Fort Worth Intl. Thats another good one if youre not already familiar with it. Taylor apparently agreed to this, and boarded the flight that night with nothing more than a briefcase containing the dynamite. In fact, he had vanished on November 16, 1959 - the very same day that airplane went down in the Gulf. 8839'W. PROBABLE CAUSE: "Because of the lack of physical evidence, the probable cause of this accident is unknown. Due to lack of evidence, however, Spears was never charged with any offense in relation to the Flight 967 crash. [citation needed], Spears was eventually arrested in Phoenix after being turned in by the ex-wife a fellow naturopath in Arizona. Flight 967 was an interchange flight between three carriers; through plane service from Miami to Los Angeles. but he would have had to have done some rushing to get aboard the plane because it taxied away at 12:25 am. The Coast Guard favored the former explanation, while the Air Force favored the latter. He was arrested for assault and battery for his wife in 1971. After several decades of false names, new identities, fresh starts, abandoned wives, abandoned lives--he had spent the last years running "a lucrative underground abortion business". Taylors son Junior dismissed the story. The flight originated in Miami at 1022 PM the p I'm from New Orleans and have flown to Tampa several times. Please note . Did you know that FlightAware flight tracking is supported by advertising? * Douglas DC-6 A mystery woman told a local Tampa newspaper that she had had a relationship with Taylor shortly before his disappearance, and did not believe he was dead. In a second interview, however, Turska told a different story. Mrs Taylor recalled that Dr Spears had held an unnatural sway over her former husband. For most of its existence the company was headquartered at Miami International Airport, Florida. The autopsies of the bodies, all of which were identified by fingerprints, indicated that all had received traumatic injuries: injuries indicated that all nine persons had been seated at the time the aircraft struck the water. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. He had actually been hiding out with an old associate named William Turska (also a naturopath), in Turskas remote bungalow in the desert 40 miles from Phoenix, Arizona. She later determined that Taylors brown jacket was missing from his apartment, though everything else seemed untouched, just as if he had stepped out to buy a newspaper. Investigation disclosed no significant weather condition in the form of fronts, squall lines, thunderstorms, turbulence or icing affecting the route of flight. Though no longer married to Al Taylor, Alice later told reporters they had been amicably divorced, and were still close. Fri, 26 May 23. Capt. This is the story Spears gave after his arrest: He said he had been in Tampa and was planning on heading back to Dallas on November 16. 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. November 5 After suffering an in-flight engine fire, the second North American X-15 (AF 56-6671), piloted by Scott Crossfield, breaks its Back making an emergency landing on Rosamond Dry Lake, California. If Dr Spears was somehow responsible for both incidents, that would make him responsible for the loss of 76 lives, making him one of the most prolific killers in American history. The flight release Tampa-New Orleans was in accordance with the Civil Air Regulations and NAL procedures. And just a freak coincidence that a couple of conmen just happened to have a ticket? In that interview, he said he knew about the plane crash, admitted taking Spears to see his wife, and said that Spears had confided in him that he wanted to start a new life: He wanted to change his character, Turska said, change his fingerprints, change everything.. Sun 4/9. National Airlines Flight 967, a DC-7B on a flight from Tampa, Florida to New Orleans, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. However, Taylor himself purchased $37,500.00 worth of life insurance at the airport; when his ex-wife attempted to collect on that policy, authorities were notified. - November 16, 1959, a DC-7B flown on an interchange route with Delta Air Lines, in a Delta aircraft but with a NAL crew National Airlines Flight 967, en route from Tampa to New Orleans, disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico. Don't have an account? About 72 square miles south of the area originally covered in November was swept and bottom contact approximately 110feet long was made at Lat. [] Then you also have to think about the fact that Al Taylor was his friend since 1928. [2] There was no evidence of any connection between Spears and the accident. I want to mention one thing; you are a class act for the ending. A FedEx plane was only about 150 feet off the ground when its pilots realized a Southwest jet was in the process of taking off on the same runway, and aborted its landing to avoid a potentially . I believe him lost in the crash.". The 9 they found were likely ejected from the plane through a large opening during the deconpression, while the rest were blown to bits. Divers established that the contact was a sunken ship. The Civil Aeronautics Board (predecessor of the NTSB) did not find a probable cause for the accident due to the lack of evidence. At 0044 the flight again contacted FAA Pensacola and advised that it would change over to company frequency and would report to the company when leaving 14,000feet and7,000 feet. It's possible it was not a direct flight, and the next leg would have been from NO to Dallas. * Douglas DC-6B This matter will be detailed later in this report. Bombs Indicated in Two Air Disasters Monday, Dec 2 2013 . The flight's next radio contact was with FAA Pensacola radio at 0031 requesting clearance to New Orleans and reestimating NL1 at 0035. One part of the investigation focused on the passengers. BOLIVIA, N.C. (WECT) - Shortly after 2:31 a.m. on Jan. 6, 1960, the peaceful night sky over the mouth of the Cape Fear River was rocked by a large blast. (These bearings could be duplicated at low altitude; the VOR bearings could not be, due to line-of-sight limitations.). 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. At first, Turska downplayed his association with Spears, saying they were merely acquaintances and that Spears had showed up out of the blue. I think the plane crashing was more or less a red herring in this case. In Autumn 1960, while in jail, Spears agreed to a taped interview with reporter Ed Barker. In one letter, Spears urged Taylor not to use his real name in future communications, but to refer to him as F. 8839'W on March 11, 1960, but the XN3 TV camera revealed it to be marine wreckage. Taylor had also been married before his marriage to Alice. He moved to California and took up hypnotism, his business was with a doctor performing abortions (which were then illegal in the U.S.). They had been divorced longer than she claimed, and the divorce had been far from amicable. Yet cracks soon appeared in this image too. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The second radar station at Houma, Louisiana, picked up the flight at 0046, on track and at 14,000feet altitude. Incredible write-up! It revealed that Al Taylor had bought a $37,500 life insurance policy-- in Tampa airport--at 12:16 am, just nine minutes before Flight 967 departed. As he was leaving the courthouse after his first hearing, he was observed to be whistling. [5], "Con Man, Best Man, An Air Crash - A Far Out, Far Up Mystery", "Robert Spears, 1959 bomb suspect, dies in Dallas", Aviation Safety Network report on Flight 967, Civil Aeronautics Board Aircraft Accident Report on Flight 967, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Spears_(naturopath)&oldid=1106844718, This page was last edited on 26 August 2022, at 19:28.
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