Thanks. It's a totally fascinating project.
One editor of a flying-related newsletter was dumbfounded that I could even imagine questioning an Official Report. If there were a genuflect emoticon he would have used it. To confess, it took quite a while for me to accept that the official reports had to be wrong, having believed them for so long.
A couple well-meaning pilots have said I shouldn't even think about it, and everyone died instantly, which of course was not true. One said I must still be traumatized, but I was over that 40 years ago. This is a detective story.
I'm hoping that when this hits the NWA history newsletter it will find the right people. Many remember my dad, and remember that day. Hopefully someone still has some documentation. If not, then just finding what I have has been a terrific bit of luck.
One friend was at the airport that day, but didn't see the crash. Until he saw my write-up we had no idea our paths had crossed in this way. When he took off the plane banked toward the city instead of west as it normally did, and that caught everyone's attention. He was a veteran on that route. Apparently they banked so the passengers couldn't see the wreck. Makes sense.
Craig