Six Engine Changes Leading to Death

This aircraft is a Travel Air 2000, S/N 444 (ATC #30), manufactured 4/16/28 by Travel Air Manufacturing Co., Wichita, KS. It left the factory with a 90 HP Curtiss OX-5 engine, S/N 6998. It weighed 2,180 pounds.

It sold for $3,325 the same day to Leo Moore of Sacramento, CA. Mr. Moore landed at Tucson on 4/19/1928 with the airplane, inbound from Wichita headed for San Bernardino, CA. No doubt, this was his delivery flight from the factory. He carried one passenger, H.D. Coffing.

Mr. Moore used the airplane well during the rest of 1928 and into 1929. On 7/30/29 the machine had accumulated 245.4 flight hours. He sold it on 8/8/29 to Pacific Coast Air Service at the Oakland, CA airport with new OXX-6 engine S/N 6999 installed.

It sold again to Robert J. Streif of Redding, CA on 5/17/30. An accident at Redding on 10/30/30 resulted in, “damage to: L/G, prop, left wing, fuselage, etc. in amount of est. $400.00.” It was repaired as of 1/17/31 with new OXX-6 engine S/N 5736 installed.

It sold on 1/31/31 to Ollie A. Rose of Redding. He flew it for over a year and changed engines three times. It had 567 total flight hours. On 7/7/32 Mr. Rose was fatally injured when he crashed the airplane. No details. Registration cancelled 7/21/32.