__NOTOC__ Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307 was a scheduled international flight with several domestic legs in the United States with the routing Washington, DC–Detroit–Madison–Rochester–Minneapolis-St. Paul–Winnipeg. On 7 March 1950, the flight was operated by a

Martin 2-0-2 The Martin 2-0-2 was an airliner introduced in 1947. The twin piston-engined fixed-wing aircraft was designed and built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. Design and development Glenn L. Martin, president of the company, intended that the Mode ...

, registered ''N93050'', when it crashed into a house on approach to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport after first hitting a flagpole at

Fort Snelling National Cemetery 3 Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory adjacent to the historic fort and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. It is the only National Cemetery in Minneso ...

. All three crew members and ten passengers on board were killed, as were two children, Janet and Tom Doughty, inside the house.

Accident

Flight 307 was attempting to land at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in the midst of a snowstorm. On approach, the left wing hit a 70-foot flagpole about 4,180 feet from the touchdown point and 650 feet west of the approach center line at

. Captain Donald B. Jones attempted to maneuver the aircraft around for another landing attempt when, about 3.8 miles northwest of the airport, a section of the left wing detached and fell near the

Washburn Park Water Tower The Washburn Park Water Tower is a landmark in the Tangletown neighborhood of south Minneapolis, Minnesota, built in 1931. It is located on top of one of the highest points of south Minneapolis. The tower is considered an unofficial "beacon" f ...

in the Tangletown neighborhood. Due to asymmetrical lift, the aircraft plummeted into the Doughty family house at 1116 Minnehaha Parkway West from a height of about 300 feet. The aircraft and house, plus two adjacent dwellings, were destroyed by fire, and two children, Janet and Tommy, were sleeping in their beds upstairs and were killed.

Aircraft

The aircraft was a

twin-engined piston airliner designed to carry 42 passengers. It had been delivered new to

Northwest Orient Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines- ...

on 6 May 1948 as registration ''N93050''.

Probable cause

The probable cause of the crash was an attempt to complete an approach with a loss of visual reference to the ground.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * *

External links

Report from the
Civil Aeronautics Board
PDF
Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1950 Airliner accidents and incidents in Minnesota Accidents and incidents involving the Martin 2-0-2 Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error 1950 in Minnesota History of Minneapolis

307 __NOTOC__ Year 307 ( CCCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Maximinus (or, less frequently, year 1060 ...

March 1950 events in the United States Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport {{aviation-accident-stub