Last Passenger Flight of TWA Constellation L749A N6020C (CN2658)
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Last Passenger Flight of TWA Constellation L749A N6020C (CN2658)
I'm trying to clarify when TWA Constellation L749A, N6020C (CN2658) made its last domestic passenger flight:
In "Constellation Survivors" by Ralph Petterson, dated September 29, 2003, page 4 indicates it was a flight in May 1967 from JFK, New York to St. Louis, Missouri.
On the airliners.net website, a caption beside a Bob Garrard photo of the same plane reports that the last flight was on April 6, 1967, but doesn't list the departure and arrival cities.
Another 'source', Wikipedia, states that "the last scheduled passenger flight in the 48 states was made by a TWA L749 on May 11, 1967, from Philadelphia to Kansas City, Missouri (Wikipedia cites 'Germain 1998, page 89' as the source).
The Wikipedia reference is to a L749 and not to a L749A, and lists different cities than the Ralph Petterson article, further adding to my confusion.
Hopefully someone out there can confirm when the last passenger flight of TWA Constellation L749A N6020C (CN2658) actually took place, and between what two cities.
In "Constellation Survivors" by Ralph Petterson, dated September 29, 2003, page 4 indicates it was a flight in May 1967 from JFK, New York to St. Louis, Missouri.
On the airliners.net website, a caption beside a Bob Garrard photo of the same plane reports that the last flight was on April 6, 1967, but doesn't list the departure and arrival cities.
Another 'source', Wikipedia, states that "the last scheduled passenger flight in the 48 states was made by a TWA L749 on May 11, 1967, from Philadelphia to Kansas City, Missouri (Wikipedia cites 'Germain 1998, page 89' as the source).
The Wikipedia reference is to a L749 and not to a L749A, and lists different cities than the Ralph Petterson article, further adding to my confusion.
Hopefully someone out there can confirm when the last passenger flight of TWA Constellation L749A N6020C (CN2658) actually took place, and between what two cities.
I'd believe the people at Save-a-Connie in Kansas City, most of them are retired TWA personnel and there's a good chance that one of them was actually on the crew !
Save-A-Connie Super Constellation Flight
They say that the last passenger Connie was 6 April on N6020C, whereas the 11 May date was the last TWA Connie overall was on a freight flight, with N7315C, a cargo converted L1649A Starliner.
Separate records, which I believe come from FAA records, but are only by month, show N6020C was withdrawn from use in April 1967, and N7315C in May 1967, which seems to agree with the above.
The last passenger flight, TW249, actually routed JFK (depart 3.05 pm) to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Louisville and St Louis. Given that the TWA Connie base was at Kansas City you can surmise that the last flight was extended onwards that day. The TWA Connies all sat there for sale for some time after being retired, but in the end most were eventually broken up unsold.
Save-A-Connie Super Constellation Flight
They say that the last passenger Connie was 6 April on N6020C, whereas the 11 May date was the last TWA Connie overall was on a freight flight, with N7315C, a cargo converted L1649A Starliner.
Separate records, which I believe come from FAA records, but are only by month, show N6020C was withdrawn from use in April 1967, and N7315C in May 1967, which seems to agree with the above.
The last passenger flight, TW249, actually routed JFK (depart 3.05 pm) to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Louisville and St Louis. Given that the TWA Connie base was at Kansas City you can surmise that the last flight was extended onwards that day. The TWA Connies all sat there for sale for some time after being retired, but in the end most were eventually broken up unsold.
Last edited by WHBM; 10th Sep 2012 at 18:26.
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TWA N6020C
Thanks so much for the information from a much more reliable source. It helps put everything in perspective. I emigrated from Ireland in 1953 and confirmed through Ancestry.com that my name was on the manifest for that specific plane (TWA N6020C) which I flew on in November of that year. Your information helps to validate the history I am assembling to pass on to my children.
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While perhaps not germain to this topic it's still interesting to note that
the last scheduled Constellation airline service in the US was a Western Airlines (ex-Pacific Northern) L749A flight from Juneau, Alaska, to Fairbanks on November 26, 1968.
Western had never operated the Connies prior to their merger in 1967.
the last scheduled Constellation airline service in the US was a Western Airlines (ex-Pacific Northern) L749A flight from Juneau, Alaska, to Fairbanks on November 26, 1968.
Western had never operated the Connies prior to their merger in 1967.
