The Fokker F.VII , also known as the Fokker Trimotor , was an airliner produced in the 1920s by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker , Fokker's American subsidiary Atlantic Aircraft Corporation , and several other companies under license. It was an airliner that could carry 6-12 people, depending on the version, and it used a variety of engines; early versions had one engine but three was more common.
30-548: This was an important airliner in the 1920s and 1930s; it was popular and made in several versions and used for record breaking flights. A variant of this aircraft, the F-10, was involved in famous aviation accident in that period that led to safety reforms in the USA. It was also used for an attempt to reach the North Pole, although there was a debate if it did reach all the way there: the aircraft
60-567: A trimotor configuration, powered by 200 hp (150 kW) Wright Whirlwind radial engines. The resulting aircraft was designated the Fokker F.VIIA-3m. Following shipment to the US, it won the Ford Reliability Tour in late 1925. The Trimotor's structure consisted of a fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage and a plywood-skinned wooden wing. The Fokker F.VIIB-3m had a slightly increased wing area over
90-463: A bagpipe played, and a small plane flew over the crowd at the crash site, on the exact minute of the crash. The Matfield Green rest stop and travel plaza on the Kansas Turnpike near Bazaar and the crash site used to have a large, glassed-in exhibit on the west side of its center foyer commemorating Rockne (chiefly), as well as the other crash victims, and the crash. The passengers and crew of
120-733: A beloved figure at the start of the Great Depression . Despite his Norwegian immigrant origins, he was regarded as the "All-American" icon of virtuous strength and honorable success. Rockne, 43, was on his way to Los Angeles to participate in the production of the Hollywood motion picture The Spirit of Notre Dame (released October 13, 1931 ). A father of four, Rockne had stopped over in Kansas City to visit his two eldest children, sons Bill and Knute, Jr., in boarding school there at Pembroke Hill . The sudden, dramatic death of Rockne startled
150-518: A popular national hero, brought a national outcry for getting "answers to the mystery" as the public demanded solutions that might prevent such disasters in the future. The most notable person aboard was Knute Rockne, head football coach at the University of Notre Dame and a national hero. Revered as more than simply the football coach with the most wins to his credit of all time, Rockne—famed for coaching his players towards both victory and morality—was
180-458: A severe shortage of evidence: When government investigators first arrived at the crash site, they found that most of the wreckage had been taken by souvenir hunters and scavengers, leaving only engines, wings and propeller. Among the issues speculated is that the craft may have been dealing with turbulence, or icing on the aircraft, or both—which could have resulted in flying conditions that may have led to control difficulty, and an overstressing of
210-417: A tiny fraction of those of the wooden airliner years. Today, the legacy of the crash is simply that the most dangerous way to travel in 1931— airlines —radically transformed into what has now become the safest way to travel. The Knute Rockne Memorial at the crash site near Bazaar, Kansas , memorializes Rockne and the 7 others who died with him. The tall, engraved-granite marker, a memorial dedicated to
240-510: The Fokker F-10 , which was bit bigger and could carry 4 additional passengers, and the Fokker F.VIII , which omitted the central engine thus becoming a twin-engined aircraft. The Fokker F.VII was also license produced by several countries including SABCA, Avia, Avro, and others. The F.VII was designed as a single-engined transport aircraft by Walter Rethel . Five examples of this model were built for
270-472: The University of Notre Dame . Questions have been raised about the exact sequence of events in the crash, and eyewitness accounts raise further questions about the exact sequence of events and the associated technical analysis. Numerous factors complicated the subsequent investigation, resulting in difficulty establishing, with certainty, the cause of the crash. The investigation was initially undermined by
300-538: The American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). All Fokker Trimotors in U.S. airline service were temporarily grounded, and they were henceforth required to undergo more frequent and rigorous inspections and maintenance. The expense of this, compounded with the bad publicity associated with Rockne's death, almost sank TWA, while aircraft manufacturer Fokker suffered a serious blow to its reputation and sales. The intense public interest in
330-570: The Dutch airline KLM. One of these aircraft, registered H-NACC, was used in 1924 for the first flight from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies. In 1925, while living in the US, Anthony Fokker heard of the inaugural Ford Reliability Tour , which was proposed as a competition for transport aircraft. Fokker had the company's head designer, Reinhold Platz , convert a single-engine F.VIIA airliner to
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#1732872769667360-469: The F.VIIA-3m, with power increased to 220 hp (160 kW) per engine, while the F.10 was slightly enlarged, carrying 12 passengers in an enclosed cabin. The aircraft became popularly known as the Fokker Trimotor . The Fokker F.VIII (F.8) was similar, but a twin engine configuration rather than a trimotor, and it was bigger. The Fokker F.IX (F-9) had a similar configuration as the F.VII, but it
390-571: The Fokker's plywood - laminate construction, resulting in a temporary ban from commercial flights, more stringent maintenance requirements, and a shift to all-metal aircraft such as the similar Ford Trimotor and later Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2 . The F.VII was used by many explorers and aviation pioneers, including: Data from European Transport Aircraft since 1909 General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Fokker F-10 The Fokker F-10
420-467: The airplane industry, and was of cultural significance, due to the death of Rockne and the public perception of the safety of aircraft. The Transcontinental and Western Air flight was a Fokker F.10 Trimotor en route from Kansas City to Los Angeles on March 31, 1931. On the first leg of the flight to Wichita, the airplane crashed into an open field a few miles southwest of Bazaar ; all eight on board died, including famed football coach Knute Rockne, of
450-745: The cause of the accident forced the Department of Commerce to abandon its policy of keeping the results of aircraft accident investigations secret. Many references claim that the accident was also the impetus for the formation of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), an independent investigative organization and the predecessor of the National Transportation Safety Board , but the CAB was not formed until 1940, five years after an accident involving US Senator Bronson M. Cutting underlined
480-671: The department's conflicts of interest with respect to their associations with airlines and their provision and maintenance of navigational aids. Nevertheless, the Rockne crash created a public expectation for the U.S. government to provide objective reviews of crashes and public release of the findings, beginning the tradition of public air crash investigation reports, which began to pinpoint and publicize blame for accidents, forcing safety improvements by both government and industry. The disaster discredited wood-framed aircraft, and it effectively forced airlines to adopt all-metal aircraft. The result
510-557: The funeral, which was broadcast around the globe. Driven by the public feeling for Rockne, the crash story played out at length in nearly all of the nation's newspapers and gradually evolved into national demand for a public inquiry into the causes and circumstances of the crash. At first, the accident brought changes to the operations of both TWA and the Aeronautics Branch of the US Department of Commerce , forerunner of
540-620: The interior of one wing over a period and had weakened the glue bonding the structure. One spar finally failed; the wing developed uncontrolled flutter and separated from the aircraft. In any case, the structural condition of the wooden wing is widely agreed to have been at least a significant contributory factor. Although the accident is best known for causing the death of Rockne, it also led to major changes in American aviation that radically transformed airline safety worldwide. Other comparable crashes had occurred before, but this one, which killed
570-410: The landowners, or during memorial commemorations. A memorial ceremony is held at the crash site memorial (and at a nearby schoolhouse) every five years since the crash, drawing relatives of the victims, and Rockne / Notre Dame fans, from around the world. In 2011, on the 80th anniversary of the crash, over 150 people gathered, including former Football Hall of Fame director Bernie Kish. Speeches were made,
600-568: The nation, and triggered a national outpouring of grief, comparable to the deaths of presidents. President Herbert Hoover called Rockne's death "a national loss." King Haakon VII of Norway (Rockne's birthplace) posthumously knighted him and sent a personal envoy to the massive funeral, held at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus. Thousands from around the world gathered at
630-521: The reputation of wooden winged' aircraft, especially the Fokker Tri-motor types. Fokker built 65 for commercial and military service. After the crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air F-10 in 1931, killing Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne and seven others, which was caused by the deterioration of the wooden wing spar, the type was temporarily grounded, and it was required to undergo more frequent and rigorous inspection. Its public image
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#1732872769667660-464: The victims and topped with the name "Rockne", stands surrounded by a wire fence with wooden posts; it was maintained for many years by James Easter Heathman , who died in 2008, who, at age 13 in 1931, was one of the first people to arrive at the site of the crash. Now part of the Heathman family estate, the memorial and crash site are on private property, off-road, and accessible only by arrangement with
690-402: The wing failed. It is often claimed that the flight went down in or shortly after a thunderstorm , but meteorological records show that there was no significant convective activity at the time. The late morning accident was arguably caused by the composition of the aircraft . The wings of Fokker Trimotors were manufactured out of wood laminate ; in this instance, moisture had leaked into
720-432: The wing. (As evidence, some cite the co-pilot's radio call to Wichita, an hour into the flight, saying, "The weather here is getting tough. We're going to turn around and go back to Kansas City.") Later theories conclude that the pilots thought their difficulty controlling the plane was due to clear-air turbulence , and the transmission was sent before they were aware of the wing's deficiency, if indeed they ever knew before
750-530: Was a leap forward in aircraft design quality and safety, as manufacturers developed advanced all-metal designs under pressure from the airlines. Various aircraft safety innovations were proposed and promoted, largely in response to the crash. Overall, the success and/or development of three key aircraft in aviation history were driven largely by the Rockne crash: With these superior, safer aircraft matched to greatly increased and more public government inspection and regulation of aviation, crash rates plummeted to
780-626: Was also greatly damaged, leading to its early retirement from U.S. airlines. Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1928, Aero Favourites:Fokker F.10. General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era 1931 Transcontinental %26 Western Air Fokker F-10 crash On March 31, 1931, a Fokker F-10 belonging to Transcontinental and Western Air crashed near Bazaar, Kansas after taking off from Kansas City Municipal Airport , Kansas City, Missouri . The scheduled flight
810-491: Was an enlarged development of the Fokker F.VII airliner, built in the late 1920s by the Fokker Aircraft Corporation of America . It was a trimotor passenger aircraft, and it carried 12 passengers. This was four more than the F.VII it was based on, and it had a larger wing and more powerful engines than that design. A crash of this aircraft in 1931, lead to widespread reforms in the U.S. aviation industry and hurt
840-524: Was at least flown in arctic conditions in this attempt. Less controversially, it was flown in the first flight across the Pacific from Australia to the United States, and earlier it was used in flight from the United States to Hawaii. In the 1930s, the aircraft began to fall out of favor as newer designs that were larger, faster, and more streamlined entered service. Some major variations on this design included
870-525: Was from Kansas City to Los Angeles , with a stopover in Wichita . On this first leg, the wooden structure of one wing failed, causing the plane to crash, killing all eight people on board, including Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne . The investigation found that the wooden wing became moist over time, causing the glue connecting the wing to the body to weaken, allowing the wing to separate. The crash brought about significant changes in airplane safety,
900-572: Was quite a bit larger and carried 20 passengers. The eight- to 12-passenger Fokker was the aircraft of choice for many early airlines, both in Europe and the Americas, and it dominated the American market in the late 1920s. However, the popularity of the Fokker quickly waned after the 1931 crash of a Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F.10 , which resulted in the death of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne . The investigation revealed problems with
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