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| The AFA Electra N13H |
However, Mr. Pigman was the Beatles pilot during one part of the tour. As you will recall, after the Beatles left Houston, Ruby Hickman arranged with her boss (Mr. Pigman himself) for the Beatles not to go to New York City on their day off as planned, but to have a nice day of rest and relaxation at the Pigman Ranch in southern Missouri. The Electra landed in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas and the Beatles boarded a twin engine-seven seater plane with Reed Pigman flying the craft. It was a scary flight for the Beatles, Brian and Ruby as George Harrison explained in the Anthology:
We flew from Dallas to an intermediate airport where Pigman met us in a little plane with the one wing, on top, and with one or maybe two engines. It was so like Buddy Holly, that one; that was probably the closest we came to that sort of musicians' death. I don't mean it nearly crashed because it didn't, but the guy had a little map on his knee, with a light, as we were flying along and he was saying, 'Oh, I don't know where we are,' and it's pitch black and there are mountains all around and he's rubbing the windscreen trying to get the mist off. Finally he found where we were and we landed in a field with tin cans on fire to guide us in.
Reed was able to maneuver the plane through the difficult conditions and the Beatles landed safely and enjoyed their time with the Pigman family and their ranch.
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| This Curt Gunther photo shows Ringo with the Pigman family at the ranch |
However, tragedy was right around the corner. On April 22, 1966 Reed Pigman was flying the same airplane the Beatles used during the summer of 1964, the AFA Electra N13H, He was taking some young army recruits to Georgia. It was a rainy, foggy night and Pigman was set to land in Oklahoma for refueling when he at the age of 59 suffered a major heart attack. The plane crashed near Ardmore, Oklahoma killing 83 of the 96 on board, including Reed Pigman.
It is a very sad ending and yet an eerie one when you consider how George Harrison was scared of flying and considered his flight with Pigman as his "Buddy Holly moment."
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| Reed Pigman and stewardesses just a month before the tragic accident |
I never knew about The Beatles' wild plane ride to a Missouri ranch where they had to land at night by the light of tin cans illuminated by candles! That's a scary story from George I can relate to, having once boarded a flimsy old plane that tangled with a thunderstorm. Thanks for that tale (though what a tragic ending for their pilot and all those young men...)
ReplyDeleteWe consider Reed Pigman to be a murderer. He lied about his medical condition, which included diabetes and a heart condition, to obtain his flight medical. The medical examiner found nitroglycerine in his blood. He had no business flying and he knew it.
ReplyDeleteAmerican Flyers Airlines was based in Armore OK. The flight plan called for a refueling stop in Ardmore before proceeding to Georgia. All the soldiers on board had completed their advanced basic training at Fort Ord in California and were on their way to Fort Benning GA for Airborne training. It was raining in Ardmore and Reed called a missed approach and decided to go around for another try. He had a heart attack and slumped over the controls. The copilot did not have chance to try and gain control before the plane slammed into a hill on a cattle ranch. Eighty three of the ninety eight people on board died, including my wife's brother, aged 17.