ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 13576
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| Date: | Sunday 23 April 1978 |
| Time: | 21:47 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain |
| Owner/operator: | Franklin Flying Field Inc |
| Registration: | N49MC |
| MSN: | 31-7652084 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1976 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Arlington, Posey Township, Rush County, Indiana -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Trenton–Mercer Airport, Trenton, New Jersey (TTN/KTTN) |
| Indianapolis International Airport, Indianapolis, Indiana (IND/KIND) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 23 April 1978 when crashed at Arlington, Posey Township, in the northwestern part of Rush County, Indiana whilst flying in thunderstorm conditions. The plane crashed in severe turbulence, and caught fire on impact. The crash killed all nine persons on board: 7 United States Auto Club (USAC) officials, a staffer and the pilot. According to a contemporary press report ("The Indianapolis Star" 24 April 1978):
"Hail and 100-mile-an-hour winds allegedly caused a 10-seat Piper Navajo Chieftain to crash in a muddy field near the Rush County, Indiana community of Arlington on April 23, 1978. The crash killed 7 United States Auto Club (USAC) officials, a staffer and pilot. The plane, bound for Indianapolis, had left Trenton, NJ after completion of the Gabriel 200-mile race. The plane made a stop at Johnstown, PA en route to Indianapolis. The pilot, Don Mullendore, radioed the control tower at Indianapolis International Airport as he reached its radar scanning area and told of the "severe turbulence" he was encountering and was instructed to drop altitude. Witnesses say they heard a "big thump" and then saw a "ball of fire".
Killed were:
Ray Marquette, 48 – USAC vice president for public relations and former sports writer for The Indianapolis Star.
Frank DelRoy, 65 – USAC Technical Director. DelRoy was the last riding mechanic to sit on the pole in the Indianapolis 500, sharing the ride with Bill Cummings in 1937.
Ross Teeguarden, 57 – USAC deputy tehnical director inspected race cars and enforced various technical phases of USAC races.
Shim Malone, 48 – Midget Supervisor and race flagman, Malone handled the flags for every USAC championship race except the Indianapolis 500.
Dr. Bruce White, 27 – was one of three physicians who attended USAC races as part of it's medical staff
Don Peabody, 54 – Sprint car supervisor and had only joined USAC in January of 1978.
Stan Worley, 65 - USAC registrar was in charge of signing in drivers, cars and crews of all major USAC races.
Judy Phillips, 40 – worked in public relations for USAC
Don Mullendore, 54 – Pilot from the Mullendore Aircraft Charter Co., out of the Franklin Flying Field, was a member of a pioneer family in Hoosier aviation".
Registration N49MC cancelled by the FAA on July 15, 1985 (over seven years later)
Accident investigation:
|
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: CHI78FA035 at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=42153&key=0
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=49MC
3. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2014/04/23/plane-crash-claims-usac-officials/8012327/?from=new-cookie
4. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/in/N49MC/
5. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1978/archives/crash-of-a-piper-pa-31-navajo-chieftain-in-indiana-9-killed/]
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Feb-2008 12:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 23-Apr-2014 14:56 | gerard57 | Updated [Operator, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-May-2015 00:30 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 10-May-2015 00:36 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 24-Sep-2017 19:40 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Sep-2017 19:41 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 29-Oct-2019 18:03 | Uli Elch | Updated [Aircraft type] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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