1931 Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 crash
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 31, 1931 |
| Summary | Structural failure |
| Site |
Bazaar Township, Chase County, Kansas, United States 38°14′09″N 96°35′12″W / 38.23583°N 96.58667°WCoordinates: 38°14′09″N 96°35′12″W / 38.23583°N 96.58667°W |
| Passengers | 6 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 8 (all) |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Fokker F.10 |
| Operator | Transcontinental and Western Air |
| Registration | NC999E |
| Flight origin | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Stopover | Wichita, Kansas |
| Destination | Los Angeles, California |
The 1931 Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 crash occurred on March 31, 1931 when a wooden-winged Fokker F.10 tri-motor flying Transcontinental & Western Air's route from Kansas City, Missouri, to Los Angeles, California, with a scheduled stopover in Wichita, Kansas, crashed near Bazaar, Kansas after a wing broke off in flight, killing all eight on board, including popular Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. The accident brought radical changes to airline regulations, operations and aircraft. The "Rockne Crash" (as it was referred to) stimulated advances in aircraft design and development, and airline industry practices. The result was a pivotal improvement in airline safety, profitability and popularity.
The Transcontinental and Western Air flight was a Fokker F.10 Trimotor en route from Kansas City, Missouri, to Los Angeles on March 31, 1931. On the first leg of the flight, from Kansas City to Wichita, Kansas, the airplane crashed into an open field a few miles southwest of Bazaar, Kansas; all eight on board died, including famed football coach Knute Rockne, of the University of Notre Dame.
It is often claimed that the flight went down in or shortly after a thunderstorm, but meteorological records show that there was no significant convective activity at the time.
The accident was arguably caused by the composition of the aircraft.
The wings of Fokker Trimotors were manufactured out of wood laminate; in this instance, moisture had leaked into the interior of one wing over a period and had weakened the glue bonding the structure. One spar finally failed; the wing developed uncontrolled flutter and separated from the aircraft.
Questions have been raised about the exact sequence of events in the crash, and eyewitness accounts raise further questions about the exact sequence of events and the associated technical analysis.
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