Fifty years ago Wednesday, an explosion ripped a hole in the side of National Air Lines Flight 2511 and sent the crippled DC-6 airliner plummeting into a farmer's field outside the Brunswick County town of Bolivia.
Parts of the plane were found as far away as Fort Fisher.
One of the worst air disasters in Southeastern North Carolina history, the crash claimed 34 lives.
"It was a gruesome sight," recalled Clarence "Lucky" Swartz, a retired State Highway Patrol officer who was on the scene.
In fact, it could have been worse. Federal investigators determined that a dynamite bomb felled NAL 2511 on the morning of Jan. 6, 1960. The case remains technically open, though, and much about it remains a mystery.
Read Full Article »