Tag Archives: air crash

It’s already 61 years…

Saturday, September 23, 2023 is the 61st Anniversary of the little known tragedy of Flying Tiger Flight 923, ditching some 500 miles off the west coast of Ireland. It was at night in the middle of the frigid, raging North … Continue reading

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Flying Tiger Flight 923 Makes it to the World-wide Encyclopedia Wikipedia

It was always something of a mystery and a disappointment to me (the author of this article), NOT to find such an important historical event listed in Wikipedia, the free, universal, world-wide Encyclopedia. The North America version of Wikipedia (in … Continue reading

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Ahern Recalls Cold War Ditching of Flying Tiger 923

Cold War Casualties by Garry Ahern, Dublin Ireland     On a late-September Sunday afternoon, I was a member of a small crowd gathered at Galley Head Lighthouse in West Cork. We were there for the unveiling of a plaque to … Continue reading

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Life raft story stirs reader responses

We were told repeatedly during the preparation drills, “The life rafts stored in both wings will eject and inflate automatically on impact..” If that were so, what happened to them?   *     *     *     … Continue reading

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Where did all of the life rafts go? There were supposed to be five. Right?

After nearly three years of research and reporting, this writer has pretty well described what happened and who was involved in the incident in addition to passengers and crew. In the process of all of this research, questions were raised … Continue reading

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Hawiiaan mother and two children lost in raging sea

“I saw a child being thrown out a window by a man after the plane hit the Atlantic. The child was never seen again. The other child also vanished.” Rachael K. Hoopii, 32, of Waimanolo, Hawaii was on her way with two … Continue reading

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Survivor says little about the harrowing experience

“It has been almost 52 years since the plane ditched in the North Atlantic and you (the FT923 site editor) are the first one I have talked to about that night since I left Germany and the men that shared … Continue reading

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Gordon Thornsberry: Mother’s scrapbook provides details of North Atlantic crash

Written and submitted by Gordon Thornsberry, Russellville, Arkansas Prologue My mother had a scrapbook on the crash which I inherited when she passed away. The scrapbook included telegrams, newspaper clippings, photos and a letter I wrote to my family detailing … Continue reading

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Mother and two children lost in raging sea

“I saw a child being thrown out a window by a man after the plane hit the Atlantic. The child was never seen again. The other child also vanished.” Rachael K. Hoopii, 32, of Waimanolo, Hawaii was on her way … Continue reading

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Air Force Captain reflects on ditching-day horror

[A number of stories were written about Dr. Figueroa, with nearly all focusing on his untiring and heroic ministering to the medical needs of fellow survivors. This is his story. It is about his experiences and feelings about the flight … Continue reading

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