Rodger and Connie Beimer came over for dinner on Saturday night. Rodger had been rummaging around in old boxes as he prepares to digitize many images and he came up with this newspaper ad from 1972. (Notice the young Dick Knipfing.) The Albuquerque Press Club awarded Rodger and I "best news story of the year" for coverage of the crash of an RB-57 Air Force plane.
I was driving out of the Television station parking lot on the way to an assignment when I noticed some strange glittering flashes over the Manazno mountains. I put the news car into the median of University Blvd. and jumped out with my Bell and Howell DR70 16mm news camera and started filming with the telephoto lens. I wasn't sure what I was filming but it turned out to be the break up of the aircraft in midair. The back seat pilot had become unconscious because of oxygen deprivation and the command pilot put the plane in a severe dive to get to a lower altitude. The aircraft, which had huge wings, broke apart. Both officers died. I wish I still had that film. The USAF came out and took it for an investigation.
3 comments:
Jim,
I have a copy of a Viva New Mexico magazine that was published back in about 1980 or so. I think they only got 2 issues out before it folded. It has a guest editorial by you (Tom Rutherford was featured in the other issue). Would you be interested in it?
sure...contact me at jbaca16@gmail.com
Ah Dick Knipfing. He's a fixture from my childhood. I remember him looking that young (and you too, Jim) once upon a time on my folk's television in Albuquerque.
Somewhere along the way, Dick ended up with snow on the roof. But he kept all his hair! :)
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