Disaster Narrowly Averted

A $500,000 replica of the 1931 record-breaking Miss Veedol, a modified Bellanca Rocket, had a landing accident at Falcon Field in Peachtree City (GA), Wednesday. The aircraft was a painstakingly replicated version of the bird that pilots Pangborn and Herndon flew around the world, completing the first nonstop Pacific Ocean crossing, in the process. It flew from Japan to East Wenatchee, Washington on October 5, 1931.

Miss Veedol was on the circuit with the National Air Tour when it went down. Neither the pilot nor his passenger was badly hurt.

The Fayette Citizen newspaper reports those on board Miss Veedol were lucky. The aircraft upon which this replica was based had a 900 gallon fuel capacity though the locals seem to have inferred that this replica was flying with a similar fuel load... it wasn't. A misinformed Peachtree City Fire Chief Storry Lohr said, "It's a flying gas tank." The replica, as part of the "The Spirit of Wenatchee Project" had intended to fly the original Pangborn-Herndon round-the-world route in the summer of 2004--though those plans are now, obviously, doubtful.

The pilot and passenger declined a trip to the hospital to get checked out, Lohr said. "They were more worried about their aircraft."

The original Miss Veedol became famous for its record-breaking journey from the United States to Japan in 1931.

The National Air Tour was scheduled to leave Peachtree City on Thursday. But the accident and Hurricane Isabel conspired to keep the tour grounded until last Friday. The FAA is investigating the incident and the tour is, once again, underway.

FMI: www.nationalairtour.org