Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307 was a scheduled international flight with several domestic legs in the United States with the routing Washington, DC–Detroit–Madison–Rochester–Minneapolis-St. Paul–Winnipeg. On 7 March 1950, the flight was operated by a Martin 2-0-2, registered N93050, when it crashed into a house on approach to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport after first hitting a flagpole at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.[1] The three crew members and ten passengers on board were all killed, as were two children, Janet and Tom Doughty, in the house.[2]
![]() A Martin 2-0-2 similar to the accident aircraft | |
Accident | |
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Date | 7 March 1950 |
Summary | Pilot error, controlled flight into terrain |
Site | Minneapolis, Minnesota 44°54′32.6916″N 93°17′39.2094″W |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Martin 2-0-2 |
Operator | Northwest Orient Airlines |
Registration | N93050 |
Occupants | 13 |
Passengers | 10 |
Crew | 3 |
Fatalities | 13 |
Survivors | 0 |
Ground casualties | |
Ground fatalities | 2 |
Flight 307 was attempting to land at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in the midst of a snowstorm.[1] On approach, the left wing hit a 70-foot flagpole about 4,180 feet from the touchdown point and 650 feet west of the approach center line at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. [1] Captain Donald B. Jones attempted to maneuver the aircraft around for another landing attempt when, about 3.8 miles northwest of the airport, a section of the left wing detached and fell near the Washburn Park Water Tower in the Tangletown neighborhood. Due to asymmetrical lift, the aircraft plummeted into the Doughty family house at 1116 Minnehaha Parkway West[3] from a height of about 300 feet.[1] The aircraft and house, plus two adjacent dwellings, were destroyed by fire, and two children, Janet and Tommy, were in their beds upstairs and were killed.[1]
The aircraft was a Martin 2-0-2 twin-engined piston airliner designed to carry 42 passengers. It had been delivered new to Northwest Orient Airlines on 6 May 1948 as registration N93050.[4]
The probable cause of the crash was an attempt to complete an approach with a loss of visual reference to the ground.[1]
Northwest Airlines (Northwest Orient) | |||
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History |
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Destinations |
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Aviation accidents and incidents in 1950 (1950) | |
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1949 ◀ ▶ 1951 |
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