Martin Johnson died, and his wife injured, in the crash of a Western Air Express Boeing 247 NC13315 in the Saugus/Newhall CA mountains. The date of the accident is 12 Jan. 1937.
See:
Western Air Express Flight 7 Crashes, Killing 5 - Timelines.com
This mountain pass claimed at least one other B-247 (UAL NC13355) and a brand-new NWA Lockheed 14H NC17394 within a year or so of each other. This is the stuff of
Fate Is The Hunter.