| On 8 May 1978 National Airlines flight 193 (Boeing 727-235 N4744) landed three miles short of Pensacola Airport's runway and sank into 12 feet of water in Escambia Bay. 55 of 58 people onboard survived and the airframe was retrieved and moved to a hangar at NAS Pensacola for the NTSB investigation that followed. When complete, they moved the hulk in an elaborate trip involving trucks and road closures to the end of the former Frisco NAS branch, which then ended just north of the base at Warrington. The parts were loaded on SLSF flats for movement to California for scrapping. While Boeing routinely moves new 737 fuselage sections by train from Wichita to Renton WA, the movement of a crash victim would probably be called unusual. (photo date approximate) |