William Lloyd Durkin (April 30, 1916 - April 29, 2006) was a Master Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps who was noted for rescuing Howard Hughes when the aviation pioneer's XF-11 reconnaissance plane crashed on July 7, 1946. [1]
William 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]
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 Swedish industrialist Gosta B. Guston. [4] Hughes sustained significant injuries in the crash; including a crushed collar bone, 24 broken ribs[5] and numerous third-degree burns.