I have had contact from a relative of hostess Alice Scribner who has expressed an interest that a memorial should be erected to commemorate the memory of those aboard.
I have written to the Porter County museum to see if they have any further information or may be able to put me in contact with someone local who may share in the goal of a memorial.
Considering the historical importance of United trip 23 and the circumstances surrounding its demise I think a memorial in Chesterton or at the crash site would be most appropriate.
There are other people who have also expressed an interest in a memorial for this tragedy.
I personally think one is long overdue.
Friday, 11 October 2013
NBC news item on 80th anniversary.
This items appears on NBC Chicago regarding United trip 23, 80 years ago. Some fascinating interviews...
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/80-Years-Later-Plane-Bombing-Remains-A-Mystery-226840081.html
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/80-Years-Later-Plane-Bombing-Remains-A-Mystery-226840081.html
Thursday, 10 October 2013
80th anniversary United 23 reg NC13304
It is 80 years ago today that United trip 23 exploded over Chesterton, Indiana with the loss of all 7 lives.
It was America's first sabotage of a commercial aircraft and possibly the first of its kind in the world.
An exhaustive FBI investigation turned up nothing in regards to the motive for destroying the Boeing 247D airliner.
It remains unsolved to this day.
Lest we forget.
It was America's first sabotage of a commercial aircraft and possibly the first of its kind in the world.
An exhaustive FBI investigation turned up nothing in regards to the motive for destroying the Boeing 247D airliner.
It remains unsolved to this day.
Lest we forget.
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Article in New Jersey Sections
This article which has appeared in "New Jersey Sections" written by Ted Sherman this month is a wonderful read. Thanks to Chris Baird at Arizona Wrecks for sending me the link as below:
http://njsections.travidia.com/SS/Page.aspx?sstarg=&facing=false&secid=136796&pagenum=26
http://njsections.travidia.com/SS/Page.aspx?sstarg=&facing=false&secid=136796&pagenum=26
Sunday, 28 April 2013
An update from Rick Vulpita
Rick posted this as a comment to one of the posts but I thought I'd actually pop it up as a separate post as it contains important information and his contact details.
Crash Site Search Update: We have visited the crash area on April 7 and 14. Our search has been concentrated where the Indiana Toll Road and 400 East intersect. We based searching this area on the photos from 1933 and from a discussion with a 94 year old eye witness who was one of the first to arrive at the scene. The eye witness will be joining us at the site when the weather gets better. Using a metal detector we have dug up a large bolt and 2 pieces of odd shaped metal. These need to be further identified and more searches of this area are planned.
Even though the area strongly resembles the pictures in 1933 I am getting to sense most of the crash site may now be under the Indiana Toll Road. The family of a co-searcher owns the land to the north where the plane first exploded. Accounts from 1933 detail a trail of plane parts and other items fell into that field including the planes tail section. That area will also be searched in the future.
If anyone has any photos from 1933 of the area to share they are needed and would be welcomed. Please e-mail me at RTVulpitta@Comcast.net Thank you. Rick Vulpitta
Crash Site Search Update: We have visited the crash area on April 7 and 14. Our search has been concentrated where the Indiana Toll Road and 400 East intersect. We based searching this area on the photos from 1933 and from a discussion with a 94 year old eye witness who was one of the first to arrive at the scene. The eye witness will be joining us at the site when the weather gets better. Using a metal detector we have dug up a large bolt and 2 pieces of odd shaped metal. These need to be further identified and more searches of this area are planned.
Even though the area strongly resembles the pictures in 1933 I am getting to sense most of the crash site may now be under the Indiana Toll Road. The family of a co-searcher owns the land to the north where the plane first exploded. Accounts from 1933 detail a trail of plane parts and other items fell into that field including the planes tail section. That area will also be searched in the future.
If anyone has any photos from 1933 of the area to share they are needed and would be welcomed. Please e-mail me at RTVulpitta@Comcast.net Thank you. Rick Vulpitta
Saturday, 23 March 2013
A witness
Rick Vulpita has approached me to say he has located a 94 year old who was witness at first hand to the explosion, crash and aftermath of the downing of the United Boeing 247. Amazing! I'm glad there's someone still around who remembers this incident first hand.
Saturday, 26 January 2013
J Edgar Hoover & other interesting facts
Many thanks to Chris Baird for re-sending me some vital scanned documents re United Crash near Chesterton. I have been scanning over them intently and see that J. Edgar Hoover was head of the FBI at the time.
In addition he was also in charge of tying up some of the loose ends of the investigation but most of the interviews with persons of interest and United were conducted by M.H. Purvis out of the Bureau's Chicago offices. Other field agents scanned the USA far and wide for witnesses etc.
Of interesting note are the fact that there were many conspiracy theories regarding the downing of the plane.
Some said one of the pilots didn't want to be part of a union and that may have been a motive; also that one of the female passengers had links with a gambler who met "tough looking Italians" at an airport shortyl before the crash. United also carried prisoners during the 1930s. Others point to a Mr Emil Smith as having underworld or illegal connections in Chicago.
It really is such an interesting snapshot of the era besides the sad read it makes.
United also estimate the damage as being around $62,321.69, an astounding amount for 1933.
Much focus zoomed in on threats made against the co-pilot (Mr Ruby) and there is a memorandum indicating that the aspect would be further researched.
The FBI agents in Chicago also sent memorandums to J. Edgar Hoover urging that the crash be more fully investigated as there was undoubtedly some criminal element that placed explosives aboard the plane.
The FBI was also concerned about the press publishing the fact it was a suspected bomb long before the FBI had gone public with the information.
The FBI also list a number of passengers who had flown on the ill-fated aircraft from October 1933 up until the crash. The records indicate the plane had made extensive journeys with a particular concentration on Newark-Cleveland and Cleveland-Chicago routes.
Any passengers who had changed their tickets for any reason were heavily pursued in a line of inquiry as to why they had done so.
It seems one man who missed the flight was interviewed extensively by the FBI as well. He was a treasurer for a company and observed that there was no security at the airport when he finally did get there.
It seems a thorough background check and investigation including lengthy interviews were conducted with a great number of people who had previously traveled on the plane with the FBI even sifting through their business affairs, personal lives and reasons for travelling.
There is also a bluntly worded reminder from J. Edgar Hoover to a field agent to San Francisco to put more urgency into the matter of interviewing suspects connected with the flight.
They even went so far as to interview a man who had been working at the Chinese Consulate.
No stone was left unturned.
But eventually the FBI had to close the case after exhausting all avenues and coming to dead ends.
Some diagrams make for very interesting viewing of the plane and wreckage portions etc.
There's also mention of a psychic who claims to have known details of the crash. The psychic's ad claims to be able to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics and so on. Interesting era indeed!
At any rate the first-ever sabotage of a plane in American history remains unsolved.
In addition he was also in charge of tying up some of the loose ends of the investigation but most of the interviews with persons of interest and United were conducted by M.H. Purvis out of the Bureau's Chicago offices. Other field agents scanned the USA far and wide for witnesses etc.
Of interesting note are the fact that there were many conspiracy theories regarding the downing of the plane.
Some said one of the pilots didn't want to be part of a union and that may have been a motive; also that one of the female passengers had links with a gambler who met "tough looking Italians" at an airport shortyl before the crash. United also carried prisoners during the 1930s. Others point to a Mr Emil Smith as having underworld or illegal connections in Chicago.
It really is such an interesting snapshot of the era besides the sad read it makes.
United also estimate the damage as being around $62,321.69, an astounding amount for 1933.
Much focus zoomed in on threats made against the co-pilot (Mr Ruby) and there is a memorandum indicating that the aspect would be further researched.
The FBI agents in Chicago also sent memorandums to J. Edgar Hoover urging that the crash be more fully investigated as there was undoubtedly some criminal element that placed explosives aboard the plane.
The FBI was also concerned about the press publishing the fact it was a suspected bomb long before the FBI had gone public with the information.
The FBI also list a number of passengers who had flown on the ill-fated aircraft from October 1933 up until the crash. The records indicate the plane had made extensive journeys with a particular concentration on Newark-Cleveland and Cleveland-Chicago routes.
Any passengers who had changed their tickets for any reason were heavily pursued in a line of inquiry as to why they had done so.
It seems one man who missed the flight was interviewed extensively by the FBI as well. He was a treasurer for a company and observed that there was no security at the airport when he finally did get there.
It seems a thorough background check and investigation including lengthy interviews were conducted with a great number of people who had previously traveled on the plane with the FBI even sifting through their business affairs, personal lives and reasons for travelling.
There is also a bluntly worded reminder from J. Edgar Hoover to a field agent to San Francisco to put more urgency into the matter of interviewing suspects connected with the flight.
They even went so far as to interview a man who had been working at the Chinese Consulate.
No stone was left unturned.
But eventually the FBI had to close the case after exhausting all avenues and coming to dead ends.
Some diagrams make for very interesting viewing of the plane and wreckage portions etc.
There's also mention of a psychic who claims to have known details of the crash. The psychic's ad claims to be able to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics and so on. Interesting era indeed!
At any rate the first-ever sabotage of a plane in American history remains unsolved.
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