MORNING CALL HISTORIC PAGES: October 1971 plane crash on Blue Mountain

On Oct. 24, 1971, a Beechcraft 99 airplane clipped the trees on Blue Mountain in Moore Township, hurtling the commuter craft to the ground in a fiery explosion. After stopping to drop off some passengers in Scranton, the 20-seat Monmouth Airlines commuter plane was carrying eight people to ABE Airport. Only four of them survived the crash. Pilots Richard Ricotta, 39, and James Crawford, 25, both of Staten Island, died along with passengers Banko and Paul Ludwig of Switzerland, according to an Oct. 27, 1971 article in The Morning Call.Surviving were Don Arcury of Forks Township, Anton Reis, of Switzerland, and Serge Destrempes and his wife Ginette Destrempes, both of Canada, who were married just a week before.Below are Morning Call pages with coverage of the crash. Mon, Oct 25, 1971 – 3 · The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) · Allentown Morning Call
Tue, Oct 26, 1971 – 6 · The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) · Allentown Morning Call
Tue, Oct 26, 1971 – 14 · The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) · Allentown Morning Call
Thu, Oct 28, 1971 – 1 · The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) · Allentown Morning Call
Thu, Oct 28, 1971 – 33 · The Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania) · Allentown Morning Call
Source: Morningcall