tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7108119778215437215.post4092846762769006569..comments2024-03-28T12:56:48.205-05:00Comments on Meet the Beatles for Real: Truth is Stranger than fiction: The story of Reed Pigman Sara S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09709390264536530164noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7108119778215437215.post-2572425244920855282023-11-22T20:02:06.496-06:002023-11-22T20:02:06.496-06:00Interestingly enough Pigman’s son and the airline ...Interestingly enough Pigman’s son and the airline company he is involved in today makes no mention of his dad’s culpability and/or the 1966 crash on two major websites; with George Harrison’s Anthology reflections and the report on the cause of the crash it seems that the Beatles were lucky in 1964 avoiding plane issues and Reed Pigman was very cavalier regarding his piloting ability! What a sad and avoidable tragedy for all involved!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7108119778215437215.post-46133489580856903352023-06-09T19:16:13.306-05:002023-06-09T19:16:13.306-05:00my father had just started as a Captain with that ...my father had just started as a Captain with that airline the year before the crash. I was 11 years old when the crash occurred. My Dad, brother, sister and a few of her friends had all gone to the movies to see Don Knotts in "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken" (terrific) and when we got home our front door was open and my Mom and a woman two doors down who also worked for American Flyers were running back and forth as we pulled up. She told us the news. The next morning the same inclement weather was still in the area and I vividly remember riding with my Dad to the crash site. The authorities wouldn't let us in. My parents attended 4 funerals in one day. I was the altar boy at one of them, it was for the Engineer Anthony Pica. It's amazing I still remember all of it. Interestingly after all the horrid details of the owner and his paying off a Doctor in Colorado I believe my Dad decided he didn't want to work with them anymore and took a job with Capitol Airlines (another charter) where he worked until his retirement in 1984. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7108119778215437215.post-6034441988035439242023-05-17T15:45:04.469-05:002023-05-17T15:45:04.469-05:00We consider Reed Pigman to be a murderer. He lied ...We 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.<br />American 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. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7108119778215437215.post-59654138066357188692022-09-20T15:46:17.380-05:002022-09-20T15:46:17.380-05:00I never knew about The Beatles' wild plane rid...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...)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com