photograph courtesy u.s. army corps of engineers
“The Final Flight of the Sun Country Special”
Dear Editor,
I’ve been an aviator since 1962. I’m amazed at the thoroughness of your article about the Sun Country Special [September 2024]. Most authors of aviation-related stories omit crucial data. Yours did not.
I seriously considered every aeronautical and mechanical possibility of the cause of this crash, and believe it’s only to be found in the bird feathers penetrating the passengers’ luggage.
The low altitude (descending from 5,000 feet); the throttles being jockeyed from cruise power to full retard, then back to full power; the probability of caved-in windscreens (windshields); and the possibility of clogged carburetor air intakes (which may well cause a rich mixture resulting in backfiring; and most importantly the Mississippi Flyway used by hundreds of thousands of waterfowl at night (when pilots can’t see them) — all these details add up to bird strikes.
Tornadoes have caused hay straw to be driven into telephone poles. The knowledge of the bird feathers says it all.
I also wanted to add that one of the engines the DC-3 used (either Wright Cyclone or Pratt & Whitney) had its carburetor intake mounted on the front. If anything — such as a bird — blocked the carburetor there would be no air to the engine. Hence, the backfiring and explosions heard by some witnesses.
It is a great subject, and very well written.
From an old pilot, many thanks,
Eric Mingledorff, Memphis
photograph courtesy u.s. army corps of engineers
Dear Editor,
What a great story! I don’t doubt that it could have been a “bird strike.” Having seen a few busted helicopter windshields and cabins full of feathers and geese flesh in my long aeromedical career as a flight nurse with the air ambulance service Hospital Wing, I can easily imagine this happening near the fields and river at night back then.
Barbara Gale Wells, Millington
photograph courtesy u.s. army corps of engineers
Dear Editor,
Great article! I could see how a bird strike or hitting a flock of waterfowl could bring down the plane. All it would take is a few birds in one or both engines and one through the glare shield to disorient or knock out the pilot. That low, they would not have time to recover.
Joe Larkins, Memphis
