Gun Linked to 1964 Crash Fatal to 44
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Nearly a quarter of a century ago, another California plane crash that may have been caused by gunfire killed 44 passengers and crew members aboard a twin-engine commercial turboprop airplane flying from Stockton to San Francisco.
The crash on May 7, 1964, near Concord occurred after a Pacific Airlines F-27 pilot was heard by the Oakland Airport control tower screaming on his radio, “I’m shot, I’m shot! Oh my God, help!”
FBI Investigation
An FBI investigation later found that Frank Gonzalez, 27, of San Francisco, a former member of the Philippine yachting team at the 1960 Olympics, had taken out a flight insurance policy of $100,000 before boarding the flight and the day before had purchased a .357-magnum Smith & Wesson revolver. The revolver was found in the plane’s wreckage with six empty cartridges and showed evidence of having recently been fired.
Pacific Airlines later merged with Bonanza Airlines and West Coast Airlines into what eventually became Hughes Air West.
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