Qualla: Western Air Express Flight 7

Western Air Express Flight 7: Introduction

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Boeing 247D was on approach to Union Air Terminal at Burbank, descending through heavy rain and fog on the morning of January 12, 1937. Flying the scheduled route from Salt Lake City, the airliner had gone off course. Pilot William L. Lewis was looking for the San Fernando Valley floor when a ridge appeared directly ahead through the murk. He cut power to both engines and nosed the aircraft down in a controlled pancake — better to hit the hillside at reduced speed than to plow in under full power. The left wingtip struck first. The aircraft skidded 125 feet along the mountainside in a curved path, coming to rest pointed in the direction it had come from.

Western Air Express Flight 7: Five Dead, Eight Survived

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Of the thirteen people aboard — three crew and ten passengers — one crew member and four passengers died. The pilot's decision to cut power and pancake rather than fight for altitude almost certainly saved eight lives. The airliner had struck a ridge in the hills near Newhall at ...

Western Air Express Flight 7: Martin Johnson

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Among the dead was Martin Johnson, one of the most celebrated adventure photographers and filmmakers of the early twentieth century. Johnson and his wife Osa had spent decades documenting wildlife and indigenous peoples across Africa, the South Pacific, and Borneo — their expedit...

Western Air Express Flight 7: The Hills Above Newhall

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The crash site lies in the hills north of the San Fernando Valley — the same terrain that has claimed aircraft before and since, where mountain ridges and marine layer combine to create conditions that defeated early aviation navigation. The valley below the crash point had been ...