Airmail Service Crashed Here July 19, 1919," was placed near the area where he crashed. in order to lessen the danger of fire in case of a crash." Lamborn was 33 years old when he died.Ī stone memorial commemorating Lamborn, reading "Lt. They determined that the ship was "clearly out of control at the time it struck, for there was open ground within two hundred yards of the wreck at angle of about thirty degrees to the left from the direction of the ship, and there was a large open place seventy degrees to the right wherein a landing could have been effected without more serious accident than tripping over bushes or fences." The switches were on, which indicated "that the pilot was not expecting to land, or to crash, since it is always customary to throw off both switches in making a forced landing in bad ground. The pilot broke both ankles, ribs, and his collar bone and died from shock on the way to the hospital without regaining consciousness.Īir Mail Supervisor Charles Stanton, accompanied by pilots Max Miller and David Logg, conducted an investigation of the crash, interviewing four witnesses and examining the wreckage. People heard the airplane's motor going on and off as Lamborn circled over the valley. He crashed at 10:40 am in Dicks Run valley, eight miles from Bellefonte. 18.6 RECORDS OF GENERAL HEADQUARTERS AIR FORCE AND THE AIR FORCE COMBAT COMMAND 1935-42 207 lin. 18.5.7 Records relating to the Air Corps mail operations. Pilot standing next to the Cleveland-Pittsburgh air mail airplane. 18.5.5 Records of the Training and War Plans Division (Air Service) and the Plans Division (Air Corps) 18.5.6 Records of miscellaneous Air Service boards. When his airplane came out of the clouds too low, Lamborn was unable to recover. With its 90hp Curtiss OX-5 V-8 engine, it could carry a pilot and mail up to about 6,000 feet at 60mph. Lamborn lost his visual references and became disoriented. He then had to climb high into the clouds to make it over Snowshoe Mountain. He passed low through a gap in the mountains between Bellefonte and Milesburg. He passed through fog, low clouds and even heavy rain without incident. The 33-year old Los Angeles-born Lamborn was carrying 404 pounds of mail in his de Havilland airplane #82 when he left the Bellefonte field at 10:20 a.m. The next month, he was transferred to the Bellefonte, Pennsylvania airfield. The wreckage of Lamborn's airplane after his fatal crash in 1919.Ĭharles Lamborn's first assignment was to Belmont Park, Long Island, New York.
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