KNUTE ROCKNE Killed Airplane Notre Dame 1931 Newspaper

KNUTE ROCKNE Killed Airplane Notre Dame 1931 Newspaper is a complete, genuine historic old newspaper with the following title, date and description: THE SPRINGFIELD UNION, Massachusetts MA April 1, 1931 * Knute Rockne death (1st report) * Notre Dame head football coach This 30 page newspaper has a nice four column headline on the front page: * ROCKNE IS HURLED TO DEATH WITH SEVEN OTHERS WHEN BIG AIRLINER CRASHES IN KANSAS with subheads and nice photo of Rockne. (see) Other related headlines on the front page include: "Notre Dame Dazed, Benumbed by Rockne's Death; Flags in South Bend fly at Half Staff" and more. Many other headlines in the sport's section and more. (see) A very nice issue for display. Light browning, otherwise in good condition. wikipedia notes: Rockne was only 43 when he died in a plane crash in Kansas on March 31, 1931, while en route to participate in the production of the film The Spirit of Notre Dame. Shortly after taking off from Kansas City, w he had stopped to visit his two sons, Bill and Knute Jr., who were in boarding school t at the Pembroke-Country Day School, one of the Fokker Trimotor aircraft's wings separated in flight. The plane crashed into a wheat field near Bazaar, Kansas, killing eight people, including Rockne. President Herbert Hoover called Rockne's death "a national loss." Authorities and aviation journalists at first speculated that the plane came apart after penetrating a thunderstorm and experiencing strong turbulence and icing, which, it was suspected, blocked the venturi tube that provided suction to drive the flight instruments. That was thought to have resulted in a graveyard spiral under instrument flight conditions and structural failure from excessive load. But this hypothesis was not backed up by meteorological records and observations; t was no isolated thunderstorm cell or other notable buildup in the area. Also, the failure involved the sturdy wing, not the tail surfaces. A long, thorough and well-publicized investigation concluded that the Fokker, operated by a company of the newly-formed TWA, broke up in clear weather due to fatigue cracks in its famous cantilever stressed plywood wing, around w one of the engine mounting struts joined. The Fokker Super Universal fleet was inspected and grounded after similar cracks were found in many examples, ruining the manufacturer's American reputation (the Dutch designer Anthony Fokker was then in business in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey). This resulted in a complete overhaul of standards for new transport aircraft and led to the use of all-metal construction in commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2. The Rockne crash dominated the news for a while and was thus a tragic catalyst in the progress of civil aviation. On the spot w the plane crashed, a memorial dedicated to the victims stands surrounded by a wire fence with wooden posts. The memorial was maintained for many years by James Easter Heathman, who, at age thirteen in 1931, was one of the first people to arrive at the site of the tragedy.[8] In 2006, he was given an honorary monogram by the University of Notre Dame for his dedication to remembering the life of Rockne.[8] Mr. Heathman passed away on January 29, 2008, at age 90 following a bout with pneumonia. Rockne was buried in Highland Cemetery in South Bend, and a student gymnasium building on campus is named in his honor, as well as a street in South Bend, and a travel plaza on the Indiana Toll Road. In addition to these tributes, the town of Rockne, Texas was named to honor him. The Matfield Green travel plaza on the Kansas Turnpike, near Bazaar, contains a memorial to him. View additional information concerning collecting rare newspapers: Please Note: All of our offerings are 100% authentic! We do not offer reprints or reproductions of any kind. They are guaranteed to be original! See below the photo for additional information related to Shipping, our Return Policy, Premium Packaging, Certificates of Authenticity, and other offerings by Tim... read more