William L. Durkin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Lloyd Durkin (April 30, 1916 - April 29, 2006) was a United States Marine Master Sergeant most famous for rescuing Howard Hughes when the billionaire's XF-11 reconnaissance plane crashed on July 7, 1946.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Personal life
Durkin was born on April 30, 1916 in Oil City, Pennsylvania.[2] After suffering a heart attack, Durkin died in Palm Springs, California on April 29, 2006, the day before his 90th birthday.[2]
[edit] Howard Hughes plane crash
Durkin rescued Howard Hughes who crashed on 7 July, 1946 while piloting the experimental U.S. Army reconnaissance XF-11 over Los Angeles, California. An oil leak caused one of the counter-rotating propellers to stop,[3] which made the aircraft yaw sharply. Hughes tried to land on the Los Angeles Country Club golf course, but the plane dropped and crashed in the Beverly Hills neighborhood surrounding the country club.[3]
The XF-11 hit three houses,[3] before the fuel tanks exploded, setting fire to the aircraft and the third house. Hughes lay seriously injured beside the burning XF-11 until he was rescued by Durkin, who was in the area visiting James Guston, the son of Gosta B. Guston, a Swedish industrialist.[4] Hughes sustained significant injuries in the crash; including a crushed collar bone, 24 broken ribs[5] and numerous third-degree burns.
[edit] References
- ^ Marine For Life - William L. Durkin. hqmc.net. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- ^ a b William Durkin, who rescued Howard Hughes from plane crash, dies at 89, Associated Press, (c/o Boston Globe), May 05, 2006
- ^ a b c Crash of the XF-11. www.check-six.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- ^ Howard Hughes: Hell's Angel - Google Book Search. books.google.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
- ^ "Howard Hughes: XF-11" . UNLV Libraries' Howard Hughes Collection. Retrieved: January 5, 2008.
