Tag: Plane Crash

May 9, 1970: Labor Leader Walter Reuther Killed in Plane Crash

Labor leader Walter Reuther was killed in a plane crash on May 9, 1970. He was 62.

Reuther was born in Wheeling in 1907. His father, Valentine, was president of the Wheeling brewers union and led the city’s Socialist Party.

As a teenager, Walter began working as an apprentice tool-and-die maker at Wheeling Steel. He soon moved to Detroit and became one of the highest-paid skilled workers for Ford Motors. Frustrated by his union activities, though, the company fired him. He and his brother, Victor, then bicycled through Europe and worked at a Ford-built plant in the Soviet Union. Reuther returned to Detroit when industrial unionism was becoming a major force and became president of a powerful United Auto Workers local.

Reuther’s national reputation grew rapidly. By 1937, he represented 30,000 workers. He helped develop strategies, including the sit-down strike, that won major union contracts. In less than a decade, he became national UAW president and achieved cost-of-living increases, productivity pay raises, and unemployment benefits for his workers.

Walter Reuther was arguably the most influential labor leader in post-World War II America.

NTSB: No Distress Call in UPS Cargo Crash

The crew of a propeller plane carrying UPS cargo made no distress call before the small aircraft landed hard enough to gouge the runway and break into pieces on Friday, a federal investigator said.

Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed as their plane went off the edge of a steep, wooded hillside. There was no fire, but responders had to cut their way through thick brush and trees from above and below to reach their bodies.

“It’s difficult terrain to negotiate,” said Mike Plante, a spokesman at Yeager airport, which serves West Virginia’s capital.

The Air Cargo Carriers plane had departed from Louisville, Kentucky, at 5:43 a.m. and arrived at the Charleston, West Virginia, airport at 6:51 a.m., Plante said.

National Transportation Safety Board lead investigator Bill English said the sky was overcast, with about 10 miles of visibility under the cloud cover, which began at about 500 feet above the ground.

The airport will remain closed until Saturday at least, since the gouge marks may need repair, English said. United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines canceled upcoming flights in and out.

Joining the NTSB probe is the FAA and the Short Brothers Co. of Northern Ireland, which makes the Short 330, a small, twin-engine turboprop.

Small Plane Crashes in Marion County

Authorities say a pilot was injured when a small plane crashed in northern West Virginia.

Marion County emergency management director Chris McIntire says the plane crashed upon landing Friday afternoon at the Fairmont Municipal Airport.

Valley Volunteer Fire Department incident commander Roger Mundell says the pilot was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

Media outlets report the name of the pilot wasn’t immediately released and the pilot’s condition wasn’t immediately known.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Two Killed in Kanawha Co. Plane Crash

  Two fatalities have been confirmed in a small plane crash that occurred around 4 p.m. Friday near Route 60 in Eastern Kanawha County. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration will arrive in Charleston Saturday morning to examine the wreckage of the Piper PA-32 aircraft. 

The State Journal reports that the FAA has released the following statement:

"This is preliminary information about a Piper PA-32 aircraft that apparently crashed  in eastern Kanawha Co., WV at about 4 p.m. EDT. The flight departed Akron Fulton Intl. Airport in Ohio and was destined for Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport in SC.  Two persons were on board. The FAA will release or confirm the aircraft N-number after local authorities confirm the status of the two occupants and release their names.  We will update this statement when we get new information."

A spokesperson for the FAA said the flight departed Akron Fulton International Airport in Ohio and was destined for Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport in South Carolina. West Virginia State Police located the site of the crash from the air by helicopter.

The Charleston Gazette reports emergency officials were told about the two fatalities by Pratt Volunteer firefighters. They were the only two aboard the plane.

Marshall football unveils helmet to honor victims of 1970 place crash

Marshall’s football team will wear the number 75 on its helmets at its next game in memory of the victims of the 1970 team’s plane crash. Marshall (6-3, 4-1 Conference USA) plays at Tulsa (2-7, 1-4) on Thursday night. Thursday is the anniversary of the Nov. 14, 1970 crash just short of Tri-State Airport near Huntington. The crash killed 75 people.

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