Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
D8032-C
Date(s)
- 1939-03-18 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
State Patrol officer Joe Sladek's head juts from the wreckage of the experimental aircraft, the Boeing Stratoliner, which crashed near Alder on the afternoon of March 18, 1939, killing everyone on board. The 33 passenger aircraft was intended by Boeing to revolutionize cross country air travel. The plane had already logged in sixteen successful test flights and was to receive government inspection, preparatory to being licensed for commercial travel, in just a few days. However, on routine "Test Flight #19," the plane, all four engines roaring, lost its wingtips and tail section and smashed into the hillside 2 miles below. The accident was witnessed by over 20 rural residents. As word of the accident got out, police were required to keep the crowd back. Even so, spectators managed to carry off several essential pieces of the debris. (T. Times, 3-18-39, p. 1, 3-20-39, p. 1)
Aircraft accidents--Alder--1930-1940; Boeing Stratoliner; Sladek, Joe;