The Mad Bomber's Wife
On the morning of January 6, 1960, winter held New York City in its grip. A cold wind ripped across the ramps at LaGuardia Airport as ground crews worked around a National Airlines Douglas DC-6B, a four-engine piston-powered airliner that had become a familiar sight on America's growing network of commercial routes. The aircraft, operating as National Airlines Flight 2511, was scheduled to carry passengers to Miami, with planned stops along the East Coast.
In the cockpit, the experienced flight crew prepared the aircraft with the practiced precision that came from thousands of hours in the air. Weather reports, navigation charts, engine checks, and radio communications were completed one by one. The Douglas DC-6B had earned a reputation as a dependable long-range airliner, and nothing during the preflight inspection suggested the trip would become one of the most infamous crimes in American aviation history.
Inside the cabin, passengers settled into their seats, each carrying private plans that had nothing to do with tragedy. Some were business travelers. Others were vacationers bound for Florida's warmer climate, grateful to be leaving the bitter northeastern winter behind. A few quietly read newspapers while waiting for departure. Flight attendants greeted passengers, helped stow coats and luggage, and performed the familiar routines that made commercial flying seem almost ordinary.
Shortly before departure, the DC-6B rolled away from the terminal. One after another, its four Pratt & Whitney radial engines roared to life, their deep, unmistakable sound echoing across the airport. The aircraft taxied into position, accelerated down the runway, and climbed steadily into the gray January sky, leaving New York behind.
As the hours passed, the weather gradually changed. The farther south Flight 2511 traveled, the clearer the skies became. The airliner cruised over the eastern United States, crossing Virginia before continuing toward the Carolinas. From the cabin windows, passengers could see scattered clouds drifting beneath them while the winter landscape stretched across the countryside below.
At approximately 12:40 p.m., the aircraft was flying over Bolivia, North Carolina, halfway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach. But without warning, a powerful blast tore through the aircraft while it was still in flight. The explosion inflicted catastrophic structural damage and the Douglas DC-6B broke apart in midair, scattering wreckage over miles of rural Brunswick County. Pieces of the aircraft, as well as bodies, fell into forests, open fields, and swampland. There was no opportunity for the pilots to regain control and no chance for anyone aboard to survive. All 34 passengers and crew members lost their lives.
The tragedy in the sky was only the beginning. A massive manhunt followed, involving complex forensic analysis and a difficult search for justice in a system that repeatedly failed to curb the violence of the perpetrators. The investigation eventually laid bare the truth behind why an airframe was targeted for the sake of a monetary payout.
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