Lockheed delivered their new Lockheed Electra 10A (1011) right before Christmas 1934 to Northwest Airlines with registration NC14260. Almost a year later on August 24, 1935, the aircraft came down just short of the runway at Boeing Field, Seattle.
All passengers and crew were safe (courtesy of northwestairlineshistory.org)
(courtesy of northwestairlineshistory.org)
Minimal damage had been done to the underbelly of the aircraft giving a demonstration of the Electra's slow approach speeds and its robust construction. Following repairs the aircraft was soon back in the air and continue to fly with Northwest for at least another year or so. Eventually it was sold, likely in 1936-37, to Hanford Airlines (which became Mid-Continent Airlines) based out of Kansas City, Mo.
Following the country's involvement in World War II, the Electra was pressed into service by the USAAF (registration, 42-56638), miraculously managing to survive the war; many Lockheed Electra 10's that were pressed into service failed to survive. After the war it ended up in private hands in Florida and from there to Honduras where the registration was changed to FAH-104. In the early 1960s, ownership changed and 1011 ended up in California where the registration was once again changed, this time to N4963C.
By the 1970s, based on photos, the aircraft sat in disrepair in Arizona; in the 1980s-90s the aircraft was given to the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, AZ and in 2011 the aircraft was painted in Northwest Airlines colors and is still on display.
NC14260 lifting off from the runway at St. Paul (courtesy of northwestairlineshistory.org)
At Boeing Field, likely January 1936 (courtesy of northwestairlineshistory.org)
Sitting on the snowy ramp at Missoula, Montana, February 23, 1936 (courtesy of northwestairlineshistory.org)
1011 as she looked for almost 35 years (airhistory.net)
Lockheed Electra 1011 as she looks today at the Pima Air Museum, Tucson, AZ (airhistory.net)
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