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Registration Number NC4945
Destroyed by Fire
Travel Air NC4945, Date/Location Unknown
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This aircraft is a Travel Air 2000, S/N 443 (ATC #30), manufactured
April 17, 1928 by Travel Air Manufacturing Co., Wichita, KS. It left
the factory with a 90 HP Curtiss OX-5 engine, S/N M-4163.
It weighed 2,180 pounds.
It sold for $3,315 the same day to Irving Carmichael of Blue
Ash, OH. Five months later, on September 26, 1928, he sold it to Miss
Charity H. Faber of Spokane, WA. The airplane was kept at
Felts Field in Spokane and used, “For transportation
to and from timber tracts.”
NC4945 landed at Tucson on September 22, 1928 piloted by J.E. Hart.
He was westbound from El Paso, TX, headed for San Diego, CA. He listed
in the remarks section of the Register, "2 hr. 40 minutes
El Paso-Tucson, Ariz." He departed after 15 minutes
on the ground at Tucson. He must have been in a hurry.
Travel Air NC4945, After Langdon Accident
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It’s hard to tell why the airplane was in the east,
but Miss Faber submitted an address and name change on November 24, 1928
as Frankfort, OH and as Mrs. Charity Faber Langdon.
On November 2, 1929
the airplane was involved in an accident in Bennettsville,
SC. Pilot Cecil L. Langdon (no license) of Moscow, ID suffered
serious injuries; two passengers were uninjured. The report
said, “Small soft field. Plane stalled on take-off and
struck a car. Washout – fuselage buckled and wings cracked
up.”
Unfortunately, the whole story does not appear on the NASM data card. Site visitor Paul Riley (cited, left sidebar) shares two news articles dated Monday, November 4, 1929 that describe the aftermath of the accident. The first, from the Florence, SC Morning News states,
"On Saturday afternoon about five o'clock the car in which Mrs. A.L. Breeden and her two children sat as they watched the maneuvers of a Circus airplane was struck by the plane and overturned seriously injuring all three. The children are Manning age 4 and Virginia aged 2, died of their injuries during the night.
"Investigation showed that the plane was attempting to rise when something went wrong and it came down diving into the automobile. Other children in the party were on the ground near the car and seeing the approach of the plane either threw themselves to the ground or ran out of the way thus avoiding contact with it.
"The accident was witnessed by a number of the relatives including the aged grandmother Mrs. W.A. Breeden.
"Mrs. Breeden while painfully wounded is expected to recover. A.L. Breeden father of the children is a member of the Builder's Supply Co., and the Breeden Automobile Co. here.
"The pilot of the plane, C.L. Langdon of Moscow, Idaho escaped with a broken nose and a demolished plane. The accident occurred on the Hamlet road about five miles from town.
"Mrs. Breeden before her marriage was Miss Mannie Manning and formerly lived at Bishopville."
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Another, from the Charlotte (NC) Observer of the same date (with a dateline of November 3), follows. There are slight discrepancies in the children's ages. It states,
"Ardhie Manning Breeden, the four and half year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Archie L. Breeden, who was injured yesterday afternoon when an airplane crashed into the Breeden's car, died at 4 o'clock this morning at Marlboro county general hospital six hours after the death of his little sister, Virginia, 13 months old, who was also injured in the accident.
".... Mrs. Breeden is still at the hospital suffering from slight bruises and cuts and from shock. The parents and numerous relatives survive.
"C. L. Langdon, pilot of the plane, which was here with an air circus at the county fair, remained in the hospital tonight with a broken nose.
"After a coroner's jury had held him [unreadable] airplane, he was arrested by Sheriff's forces. Amount of bond had not been set tonight. What charges will be brought against him had not been made known tonight."
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According to the NASM record, Cecil Langdon received a violation for flying the
aircraft in interstate commerce without a commercial license
and was fined $500.
His airplane was sold at a sheriff’s sale due to damage
to private property. It was purchased on May 2, 1930 by Glenn M.
Crepps (mechanics license no. 11708) of Augusta, GA for $300.
He rebuilt the airplane as of January, 1931 only to have it involved
in another accident on April 30, 1931. It was, “Destroyed by
fire with exception of bare fuselage”. No further information.
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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: June, 2005 REVISED: 01/16/08, 03/06/10, 09/28/11
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