[Sam Sloan's plane crash #7]

Image of plane crash that caused the death of Sam Sloan on January 1, 1929, in Mitchell County, Texas. PBPM 79-039.024.02 Inscription (on back): Sam Sloan's crash 1-1-29 Enclosed note: These pictures of S. A. ("Sam") Sloan and pictures taken at the scene of the crash near Colorado City, Texas Country Club building. I had the flu (105 degrees) when Sam came by my room at the Scharbauer Hotel at Midland, Texas to check on my condition; while there, Sam told me that he was going to fly over to Colorado City and drop a note out of his plane for Kate Justice, the hostess at the Country Club wishing her a happy New Year (they were good friends - met in France during WWI while he was a combat ace in Amry Air Corp and she was an Army nurse - Sam opened the left door of the cabin plane and, just as he dropped the note, from the underpowered (OX5 90 HP motor) Fairchild high-winged monoplane (cabin job) the plane lost flying speed and spun into the ground very near the Country Club building - Sam was killed instantly the control "stick" passing through his heart. January 1, 1929 was a bad, sad day for all concerned. The loss of my "boss" AND FRIEND had a profound effect on my life - during the month of August of the same year (1929) my wife, Odessa and our unborn child both died in the Baptist Hospital in Dallas. 1929 was not a good year. 1929 also marked the beginning of the first and worst long depression this country has ever seen. October 12, 1979 Lee Jones, Jr