Northwest History. Alaska. Crosson, Joe.

• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1935
• Subjects: flying hearse; one-eyed flier; Fairbanks; Alaska; Calvin S. White; Wiley Post; Will Rogers; Joe Crosson; Point Barrow; Barrow; the Arctic coast; Alaskan airmen; airport; Koyukuk mountain; Wild River Lake; Stevens; Whitehorse; Y. T.; Electra airliner; the United States; Juneau; Northwest; Pacific > History > 20th century; Arctic; Calvin; Crosson Point; Pacific
• Online Access: http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/clipping/id/90128

Bodies Of Post, Rogers On Way Back To States: "Flying Hearse" Piloted By Close Friend Of Noted One-Eyed Flier Arrives At Fairbanks Today. BODIES OF POST, ROGERS ON WAY BACK TO STATES 'Flying Hearse" Piloted By Close Friend of Noted One-Eyed Flier Arrives at Fairbanks Today BY CALVIN S. WHITE United Press Correspondent FAIRBANKS, Alaska, Aug. 17— Wiley Post and Will Rogers back to Fairbanks today, in 'flying hearse" piloted by Joe Crosson. It was only day before yesterday they left, with all the city wishing them well, on a leisurely flight to Point Barrow on the Arctic coast. That night their plane crashed on the edge of a. river, only 15 miles short of their goal. A handful of silent Alaskan airmen stood with bared heads as Crosson s ship roared out of the mists, circled the airport and glided down onto the field. Crosson appeared tired and shaken from his 500-mile flight out of the Arctic from Point Bararrow. Weather Bad For Flying He said weather was bad for flying thruout,with most of the journey thru the night. He flew his plane over passes of the Endicott and Koyukuk mountain ranges, seeking safety rather than speed. He stopped twice to refuel, at Wild River Lake and at Stevens. Crosson expected to take off for Juneau by way of Whitehorse, Y. T., later in the day. The bodies of the famed flying pair will be placed in an Electra airliner for the remainder of the trip to the United States. "The wreck was an unpleasant sight," Crosson said, indisposed to discuss his trip. "It is unexplainable how it could have happened.'' Crosson Shows Grief Crosson showed deep grief at death of Post, whom he once rescued from the Alaska wilderness, and whom the Alaska wilderness, and whom he regarded as one of his best friends. He warned Post against flying into the Arctic when the pair left Fairbanks Thursday, but the one-eyed Oklahoman only laughed. Time of Crosson's departure was uncertain. It was raining hard here at noon, and he wanted weather conditions favorable as possible It is a three-hour trip of 450 miles to Whitehorse, with another hour necessary for the 150 miles between Whitehorse and Juneau.