05-04-2025
Tragedy struck 58 years ago when an airplane crashed at Blue Grass Field, killing 9
Editor's Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city's history - some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.
It was the worst aviation accident in Central Kentucky's history at the time, and it left nine people, including four University of Kentucky professors, dead.
Reports indicate that it was a clear, breezy Monday afternoon on April 3, 1967, when a twin-engine Beech 18, called '37 George' crashed 1.5 miles off of the end of a runway at Blue Grass Airport.
The plane was a chartered flight that had just returned to Lexington from Louisville. The plane had been rented as one of two planes to fly a group of people back to Louisville to catch a connecting flight to Roanoke, Virginia.
It was considered a routine flight, officials said at the time.
Around 4 p.m., eight passengers boarded 37 George and taxied out to Runway 33, facing Keeneland. The plane took off without incident.
Directly behind the plane was a small Cessna flown by Don Duckworth, a former police officer who flew the Cessna for a local radio station as a 'traffic watch.' Duckworth said 37 George looked sluggish as it took off, like it was struggling to gain altitude.
After it took off, he said the left wing of the plane dipped, then the plane disappeared.
According to Duckworth, the next thing he saw was a ball of fire and smoke. The fire was engulfed in flames. All eight passengers and the pilot perished.
Officials later determined that during the plane's initial climb, the left engine caught fire. The pilot decided to return to the airport for an emergency landing, but when he made the turn lost control of the plane. The plane dove into the ground and crashed on the field.
According to the Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives, the plane was improperly loaded which was considered to be a contributing factor to the crash.
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