PILOT STORIES: Lamborn,
Charles W.
| Air Mail
Service Began: |
June 8, 1919 |
| Air Mail Service Ended: |
July 19, 1919 |
| Assignment: |
Belmont Park, Maryland |
| |
July 1, 1919 – Bellefonte, Pennsylvania |
Charles W. Lamborn signed up with the Air Mail
Service on June 8, 1919. He was killed a mere five weeks later
when he was flying from Bellefonte to Cleveland. While flying through fog, heavy rain and low clouds Lamborn ascended to pass over Snowshoe Mountain and became disoriented.
His airplane came out of the clouds at only 400 feet, nose down,
smashing into the ground. Although his shattered body survived
the crash, Lamborn died before he could reach the hospital.
On July 19, 1919, Charles W. Lamborn was the first airmail
pilot killed in the treacherous Pennsylvania mountainous area
known by pilots as "Hell's Stretch."
Learn more about Lamborn.
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