1966 Lookout Mountain plane crash

The 1966 Lookout Mountain plane crash was a fatal aviation accident that occurred on the evening of February 9, 1966 near Fort Payne in DeKalb County.

The accident killed pilot Bob Hoskins of Birmingham and State Senator Ryan deGraffenried Sr, who was campaigning for Governor of Alabama. The candidate had left a meeting in Fort Payne and was due for another engagement in Gadsden.

With storms approaching, some other members of the group chose to make the 40-mile trip southwest to Gadsden by automobile. DeGraffenried was dropped off at DeKalb County Airport where his plane, a blue and gray twin-engine Cessna 310, was waiting with the pilot. The airport's manager tried to convince deGraffenried not to fly in the bad weather. Hoskins assured him he could complete the trip safely, and the two proceeded to embark.

During the plane's initial ascent, a sudden downdraft propelled the plane into the northern slope of Lookout Mountain, about a mile from the airstrip and 200 feet below the ridge. A rescue squad from Rainsville located the wreckage early the next morning, and both men were pronounced dead at the scene. Cash from campaign contributions collected at the previous day's event was scattered through the surrounding trees.

After deGraffenried's death, First Lady Lurleen Wallace entered the governor's race and went on to succeed her husband.

References

• Rogers, Lisa (February 9, 1996) "Plane crash remembered by friends, advisors" Gadsden Times