Marjorie van Vliet

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Marjorie van Vliet (Zeuch) (1923 - 1990), was a teacher from Warwick, Rhode Island, in the United States, who, in 1978 at the age of 55, learned to fly. She quickly earned her private and commercial licenses with an instrument rating and decided to undertake projects to promote world peace and related charity causes, by flying a small plane to different destinations and making personal contacts.

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[edit] Touring for peace

After founding a "World Friendship Association" and flying some domestic flights to promote world peace and fight child abuse, she looked for further flying-related challenges.

As a more ambitious goal, she decided to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to the Soviet Union to promote world peace, possibly continuing on around the world, returning via the Pacific Ocean. But despite many efforts to promote her idea over several years, she and her plan never got off the ground, as the Cold War was still raging and problems obtaining permissions from the Soviets for the flight proved insurmountable.

[edit] Planning the Grand Tour of the "lower 48"

In 1990, she eventually decided on a domestic "grand tour" fund-raising flight as alternative. The idea: in a single 2-week period, criss-cross the U.S. flying to all lower 48 states, landing at each state capitol to promote her association’s messages of world peace and the fight against child abuse.

For this flight she picked a friend, Frank E. Martineau (Colonel, USAF, ret.), an experienced pilot who flew bombing missions in World War II, and later flew for the Air Force Reserves in the U.S.

Col. Martineau, 69 years old at the time, had logged 5,400 hours flying time with instrument flying experience. Van Vliet, 67 years old at the time, believed (according to periodic newsletters her association published at the time) that having the vastly more experienced Col. Martineau along on board would significantly enhance her safety margin for the arduous and ambitious two week flight.

[edit] The Grand Tour and accident

Ultimately, after successfully landing in 47 states, the flight ended in tragedy, ironically just one mile short of the final en-route stop. On the morning of June 15, 1990, the single engine Mooney M-20E that Van Vliet and Martineau were flying, en-route from Columbus, Ohio, crashed into wooded terrain in light rain, turbulence and fog, while executing an instrument approach to Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia. They were the sole occupants and both suffered fatal injuries and perished in the crash.

[edit] NTSB accident report

According to the NTSB report, issued in 1992, the probable cause of the crash was improper instrument flying procedure on the part of the pilot in command, which was Martineau for this segment.

From the official NTSB accident report:

"Probable Cause: The pilot's improper IFR procedures, his failure to maintain a proper glide path on the ILS approach, and his failure to initiate a missed approach at the decision height. The adverse weather was a related factor."

[edit] Postscript

As another irony, the Soviet Union, by now in Perestroika, had finally approved Van Vliet's request for the World Peace tour flight over their territory (with Martineau as copilot), just prior to the Grand Tour flight.

Marjorie van Vliet was laid to rest in Warwick, Rhode Island. In 1991 she was honored by being inducted posthumously into the International Forest of Friendship in Atchison, Kansas.

[edit] References

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