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LOCKHEED VEGA Model 2 NC574E
TWO ACCIDENTS IN TEXAS
This airplane is a Lockheed Vega Model 2 (S/N 57; ATC #140)
manufactured during early 1929 by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation,
Burbank,
CA. It left the factory with a Wright Whirlwind
J-6 engine (S/N 10186) of 300 HP. It was a five-place
airplane.
It sold on April 17, 1929 to Schlee-Brock
Aircraft Corporation,
Detroit, MI. It was flown on Schlee-Brock’s
Arrowhead International Airways out of Duluth, MN during
1929 and 1930.
We see NC574E landing at Tucson on April 17, 1929 flown
by George C. Sherwood. He carried one passenger, Rusty
Coe. They were eastbound from Los Angeles, CA to Detroit,
MI. This couldn’t be a more clear example of
a ferry flight of this brand new airplane from the Lockheed
plant to its new owners in Detroit.
In 1930, Schlee-Brock sold the airplane to C.J. Conner and
A.C. Chesher, Hobbs, NM. Chesher was President of
Eastern New Mexico Development Co., Inc.; Conner was an orthopedic
surgeon. Soon after their purchase, the airplane suffered
an Accident at Littlefield, TX on March 1, 1930. There
is no record of the damage or injuries. The airplane
was repaired. It suffered another accident at Seminole,
TX on December 10, 1930. No details of this accident
are present in the NASM record.
In 1934 the CAA made an inquiry as to the ownership of NC574E. It
was reported that parts of this airplane were stored in a
hangar at Santa Barbara, CA. No further record.
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UPLOADED: 04/19/06 REVISED: 10/13/11
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