Aviation Enthusiast at large...

I believe here, as in connection with my other blog regarding the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 11 in 1962, that in 1933 we have a near identical situation of a case of sabotage of a commercial flight. In this case a small propeller plane en-route from New York to Oakland, California was performing the Cleveland to Chicago leg of its flight when it fell in flames from the sky on the night of October 10th 1933. Many witnesses in and around the Indiana town of Chesterton in Porter County reported seeing the airliner in flames as it fell to the ground. The registration of the Boeing 247 was NC13304. It was also the first-ever crash of a United Airlines flight that is known about where the aircraft was written off.

After some investigation by the Chicago branch of the United States Bureau of Investigators it was determined some form of nitro-glycerine had been involved. A suspicious package carried aboard the plane by a man was later found and dismissed to be a cause of the explosion. Of the four passengers and three crew members aboard (2 pilots and one air hostess), none were suspected of foul play with the airliner or any of its cargo.

From a Wikipedia article which links to several sources (Time Magazine and the New York Times of 1933), it would appear that the aircraft came to rest on the farm of a James Smiley of Jackson Township, Porter County, Indiana at around 9pm on Oct 10, 1933. Other pieces of the flight are available only in bit form in a few news clippings from the time which I have obtained from the Auburn Citizen Advertiser Paper of New York, Time Magazine online archives and from the  THE VIDETTE-MESSENGER, VALPARAISO, INDIANA newspaper.

Of those aboard were:
Harold Tarrant, Pilot
H. E. Ruby Jnr., Co-Pilot
Alice Scribner, Stewardess and Registered Nurse
Miss D. M. Dwyer (passenger), Arlington, Mass.
Mr E. Smith (passenger), Chicago, Illinois
Fred Schoendorff, (passenger), Chicago, Illinois
The FOURTH person is both identified as a passenger or a crew members and there is some confusion as to whether they were flying as a passenger or working as a crew member aboard the flight. I cannot clear this matter up at present but he was: H. R. BURBIS of Columbus, Ohio and employed by United as a radioman.

The crash was witnessed first-hand by Miss Esther Stroup, a school teacher.

The flight Number was reported as United No. 23.

As I say the details are sketchy but this is all I have to go on at this stage.

One of the partial article is here: http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,753980,00.html

I have other articles on request.

If anyone knows anything of this crash, is related to anyone who was aboard or can shed any further light on it I would be delighted to hear from you at dhcomet@gmail.com or via this blog. Feel free to post.

On another note I would like to point out that to my shock and horror there is NO MEMORIAL to the downed plane in either Chesterton Town or in the entire county or State.