1936 ROSCOE TURNER SIGNED CRASH COVER

                                            (Cover credit:  Staines collection)

In late August 1936, Roscoe Turner took off from Burbank in his Wedell-Williams Model 44 (NR61Y) bound for New York from where the Bendix Trophy race was due to start. The Model 44 suffered engine problems near Flagstaff, Arizona, and he crash-landed on a Zuni Indian reservation. The carburettor had iced up, and seriously affected the engine running; on landing, the aircraft had somersaulted, breaking the fuselage behind the cockpit. Turner had fractured two ribs and a bone in his neck, but he endured 17 miles on horseback, then 35 miles in a car, and he then returned to Los Angeles by train before seeking medical help. He deceived the press about the cause of the accident, to save the reputation of Pratt & Whitney. 

This cover was flown by Turner twice across the continent (please read cache on cover)