Chronicles of Boone County

Items

• 1863--Morgan's Escape through Boone County
  Historical marker #2394 in Boone County commemorates a daring prison escape made by Confederate cavalryman John Hunt Morgan. In November 1863, Morgan escaped from the Ohio State Penitentiary and crossed into Boone County, Kentucky.
• Delta Flight 338 Crash, 1999
  On takeoff, the aircraft ran through a flock of birds, some of which were pulled into the engines. The landing gear had only just lost touch with the ground at the time of the incident, and was able to return to the runway safely. Though there was substantial damage to the aircraft's engines, there were no injuries on board.
• Comair Crash, Ky., 1990
  While on a flight to check the pilot's competence, the nervous pilot failed to follow the pre-landing checklist. As a consequence, the landing gear was not lowered before landing. While the aircraft was "damaged beyond repair," there were no fatalities.
• Air Tahoma Flight 185 Crash, 2004
  Air Tahoma Flight 185, a DHL Convair 580 twin-engine cargo plane, crashed on approach to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. The plane ran out of fuel and crashed on a green at World of Sports Golf Course in Florence, killing the co-pilot and injuring the captain.
• Active Aero Charter Crash, Ky., 1989
  After taking off fron runway 18, the private plane climbed approximately 200 feet before crashing next to the runway. The cause was later attributed to ice on the wings. Unlike other planes parked nearby, the pilot had failed to deice the wings before takeoff.
• Air Canada Flight 797 Crash, 1983
  A fire broke out midair on Air Canada Flight 797 over Indianapolis. The plane was rerouted for emergency landing to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. The fire continued to rage and produced so much smoke that the pilot could not see his controls during landing; he was guided to the runway by another pilot. The landing was successful; however, 23 people died from smoke inhalation, including Canadian folk musician Stan Rogers.
• Comair Flight 444 Crash, 1979
  A twin engine plane operated by Comair (Flight 444) lost power to one of its engines during takeoff. The loss of power caused the plane to lose control and crashed soon after, killing all 8 aboard.
• TWA Flight 159 Crash, 1967
  TWA Flight 159 ran off the runway while attempting to take off from the Greater Cincinnati Airport. While attempting to take off, the crew thought that they had struck a Delta Airlines plane that was stuck in the mud near the runway and immediately aborted takeoff. Later investigations showed that the TWA plane did not contact the Delta plane.
• Zantop Air Transport Crash, Ky., 1961
  A cargo plane crashed near Constance on approach to the Greater Cincinnati Airport. The airplane broke apart and skidded about 400 feet before bursting into flames. Miraculously the two crew members, Calvin Goutier and Richard Brethren, survived and only suffered minor injuries.
• TWA Flight 694 Crash, 1955
  The first commercial crash in the region occurred when a TWA aircraft departed from the Greater Cincinnati Airport in Hebron and struck the wing of a privately-operated Douglas DC-3. The right propeller of the TWA cut across the top of the DC-3 and caused both planes to crash killing all on board both planes. 15 people died total.
• American Airlines Flight 383 Crash, 1965
  That evening American Airlines Flight 383 from New York City was making an approach to the Greater Cincinnati Airport in light snow. The pilot misjudged the altimeters during approach and crashed into the hillside near Constance, killing 58 people and severely injuring 4.
• TWA Flight 128 Crash, 1967
  TWA Flight 128 from Los Angeles was making a schedule stop in Cincinnati, and was supposed to proceed to Pittsburgh and then Boston. On approach the airplane struck trees on the Constance hillside and crashed 6,878 feet short of the runway, killing 70 and injuring 12. Of the 70 killed included Andrew Clark, who was the airport attorney, and his wife.
• Boone County 4-H and Utopia Fair (Boone County, Ky.)
  The tradition of the agricultural fair in Boone County dates to the mid-1800s in the Florence area. The first fair of this kind in the county was held in Florence in 1854 on land near present day Kentaboo Road. It closed at this site in 1881.
• Flood, 1937
  January 1937 saw the beginnings of the worst flood in the recorded history of the Ohio River. Several states were effected, with hundreds of cities and towns inundated by the deluge. In the Greater Cincinnati area, the flood waters crested at 80 feet.