DIY History | Transcribe | Nile Kinnick Collection | Nile Kinnick airplane crash correspondence, 1943-1972

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Nile Kinnick airplane crash correspondence, 1943-1972

1948-10: Page 02

-2- 

a short distance from the plane, but far enough away not to be sucked down when the plane sank.
   One of our destroyers went after Kinnick the moment his plane landed on the water, but before it got to him, while he was floating in the water with his Mae West, all of a sudden his hands went up and he went down.
   The plane went down into the water first, but he was clear of suction from the plane.
   These waters are infested with sharks, and it was believed that a shark got him.

   Kinnick trusted the men who worked on his plane. He was very nice to all the mechanics. He had faith in the men who worked on his plane. He did not check on their work, even though he knew his plane and every part of it -- he took the mechanic's word that he had checked the plane and found it to be in good condition.

   I was with Kinnick three months at Quonset Point, Rhode Island,
and one month at Trinidad -- altogether four months.
   He was the best liked pilot on the carrier, and we had over 100 pilots.

Saving...

-2- a short distance from the plane, but far enough away not to be sucked down when the plane sank. One of our destroyers went after Kinnick the moment his plane landed on the water, but before it got to him, while he was floating in the water with his Mae West, all of a sudden his hands went up and he went down. The plane went down into the water first, but he was clear of suction from the plane. These waters are infested with sharks, and it was believed that a shark got him. Kinnick trusted the men who worked on his plane. He was very nice to all the mechanics. He had faith in the men who worked on his plane. He did not check on their work, even though he knew his plane and every part of it -- he took the mechanic's word that he had checked the plane and found it to be in good condition. I was with Kinnick three months at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and one month at Trinidad -- altogether four months. He was the best liked pilot on the carrier, and we had over 100 pilots.