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Out of the skies: Blossburg recalls loss of Flight 40

Blossburg recalls loss of Flight 40

BLOSSBURG -- A half century ago, Jack Eckman was working at a foundry when he saw smoke billowing into the sky east over a hill a little more than a mile from here in Tioga County.

"It had to be about 3:30 (p.m.)," Eckman said, as he and his friend drove up a mountain road and entered the site of an airplane crash.

"It was a gruesome sight," he said. "I saw smoking engines and could smell diesel fuel."

Eckman, who was among the first to arrive before a bulldozer made a path for emergency personnel to conduct their search and rescue, was one of several eyewitnesses who, on Friday, recalled the crash. It was the 50th anniversary of Mohawk Airlines Flight 40, which crashed on nearby Bloss Mountain.

In a somber ceremony beneath a tent not far from where a granite monument in the shape of a airplane tail will be placed to honor the passengers and flight crew, Roger Tracey, coordinator for the anniversary. welcomed those in attendance. After some words by dignitaries, those with memories of the day shared them.

One by one as tears welled in eyes, friends and family and emergency medical providers shared what it meant to the borough of less than 2,000 people.

Some recalled when the airplane, en route from Elmira, New York, to Washington, D.C., crashed shortly after eight minutes into the flight, according to Bill Hopper, a representative with the Elmira Regional Airport.

The airplane accident, which was the result of a valve in the auxiliary power unit failing and spreading fire to the tail, caused a loss of pitch control. All passengers and flight crew died, according to William Schlosser, a representative of the Civil Air Patrol.

John Barr said his aunt, Ruth Tice, could see the airplane over Mansfield, flying lower than it should.

Some were at the swimming pool at Island Park when the plane went down.

Miles Wood, a former teacher who was at the pool instructing children, said he felt the concrete beneath his feet rumble and looked up to see a fireball rise over Bloss Mountain.

The plane was 1 year old, had a little more than 2,400 hours of use and was equipped with two engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce, according to Lonny Frost, a local journalist and collector of history about the accident.

"You understand there were 34 people and you didn't know who they were but you are saddened for our loss," said R.E. Patton, a family member who lost a relative on the flight. "I still hear emotion of the people who are haunted by this. I thank this town for its efforts made that day."

For Tracey, the downed plane was more than mere twisted metal. It represented the last seconds for someone's sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers and sisters.

"They would never see summer picnics, birthdays or the upcoming holidays," said Tracey said, who has had interest in the solo mission to commemorate the airplane crash for years, collecting newspaper clippings and witness accounts, preserving photographs and overseeing the fundraising campaign for the monument.

Estimated to cost $7,000, with $3,000 secured, the monument soon will be at the park so those who want to can see it and feel the emotion shared by much of this community, Tracey said.

Ward Manufacturing, which has contributed a bulk of the donation thus far, has made it possible for the monument to be ordered, he said.

Once it is set, the stone will include remarks on it describing a brief history of the fateful flight, the names of the lost and donors, he said.