Unsolved 1940s plane crash subject of ElderCollege course

History buffs to look into 1941 plane crash In partnership with the Aviation Museum, UWindsor’s ElderCollege is looking into the reasons behind the crash. Travis Fortnum explains.

On Oct. 30, 1941 an American Airlines aircraft called the Flagship Erie fell from the skies in southwestern Ontario, crashing into a farmer’s field near the town of Lawrence Station.

The 20 people onboard – 17 passengers and three crew – were all killed.

The cause was never conclusively determined, in part because the bombing of Pearl Harbour just a few weeks later overshadowed the crash.

Windsor-based scholar Lloyd Brown-John said he became fascinated with the story of the crash after reading the book Final Descent: The Loss of the Flagship Eerie by Robert D. Schweyer.

“It’s a mystery. Why did this airplane fall out of the sky?” he said.

Brown-John is the director and founder of Canterbury ElderCollege – a branch of the University of Windsor offering lessons and courses to those over 55-years-old.

Come Nov. 7, they’re offering a one off course on the mysterious plane crash, featuring a panel of aerospace experts.

“And hopefully they will be able to provide some explanation and solve the mystery of why this airplane crashed,” Brown-John says.

The event (dubbed ‘A Mystery: Perhaps Solved’) will be hosted at the Canadian Aviation Museum, with a $10 admission fee.

Registration is open online.