Fact Checking Nelson's "Doors Of Death" light aircraft near death experience

[IHAQ]

Found one incident for that date

https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.avia ... 1778&key=0

It's the only incident for that date in Utah. There is only one other incident for the month of November 1976 in Utah. Nelson's "Doors Of Death" story appears to be a Dunnism.

in my opinion, the date is the least reliable information we have. Nelson himself doesn't mention it. It's second-hand from Sheri Dew.

What was the date of Kerr's inauguration at Dixie (the appointment he was on his way to when the incident supposedly happened)?
There were 57 "incidents" in Utah in 1976. None for Delta, Utah
https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.avia ... 86a9b2a8e3

[Gabriel]

Found one incident for that date

https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.avia ... 1778&key=0

It's the only incident for that date in Utah. There is only one other incident for the month of November 1976 in Utah. Nelson's "Doors Of Death" story appears to be a Dunnism.

The only aircraft related incident that I could find regards
a made-for-TV movie "Mayday at 40,000 Feet", which premiered on CBS on November 12, 1976 (per Wikipedia). However, that was a work of fiction.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Can someone make sense of the NTSB's website? I'm on my phone and it's too wonky for me to try to use their search engine right now.

- Doc

I ran a search here: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/index.aspx

https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/Repor ... L&IType=FA

Cessna 310J, four to six seater, emptied fuel tanks and landed in a field. Happened in '87, could be the genesis of the story?

- Doc

[Lem]

I ran a search here: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/index.aspx

https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/Repor ... L&IType=FA

Cessna 310J, four to six seater, emptied fuel tanks and landed in a field. Happened in '87, could be the genesis of the story?

- Doc

From your link, does this mean what I think it means?

Aircraft Fire: None
Aircraft Explosion: None

[Tom]

Kerr's inauguration was November 12, 1976. The Dixie Sun's coverage mentions that Nelson gave the invocation.

[Tom]

It was November 12, 1976. He was traveling from Salt Lake City to St. George to give the invocation at Rolfe Kerr's inauguration as president of Dixie College.

One version:

"I was in an airplane going from Salt Lake City to St. George to participate in a function at Dixie College. We were in one of those small commuter airplanes. There were about six passengers in it. The pilot had just announced that we were over the halfway point between Salt Lake City and St. George—we were past the point of no return. I thought, 'Well, that's a weird announcement to make.'

"Shortly after that, the engine on the right wing of the airplane burst open in flames, spewing oil all over the right side of the plane. The propeller became starkly still and the whole engine was on fire. We then went into a dive earthward. I assumed that my life was going to be terminated right then and there.

"The poor lady across the aisle from me was in absolute hysterics. She was right there where the flames were the brightest. But the pilot had turned off the ignition that fed more gas into the fire and had purposely been in a steep dive hoping that the flames might be extinguished, which was what happened. Then, with the power still left in the other propeller—which he then turned on just as we were about ready to have our moment of impact—he was able to glide us, following a highway, until we could make an emergency landing.

Spencer J. Condie, Russell M. Nelson: Father, Surgeon, Apostle, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003.

The cited source here: Russell M. Nelson, "A Call to Serve," address at the University of Utah Salt Lake Institute of Religion, 1 March 1985. Note that Condie prefaced the above account as follows: "The imminent prospect of death places in bold relief the things that matter most in life. Elder Nelson related just such an experience he had November 12, 1976."

The Church History Catalog has record of an address by that title delivered by Nelson at the Salt Lake Institute of Religion on March 31, 1985 (here).

I don't know whether he publicly mentioned the incident prior to March 31, 1985. Would someone check his 1979 book, From Heart to Heart, for mention of it?

[Res Ipsa]

The problem appears to me that there is no online database that reports all "incidents" in 1976. The FAA's detailed online database starts in 1978. The NTSB doesn't investigate all incidents, and so absence from their database isn't conclusive. I tried to find a database of digitized paper copies of the accident/incident reports from 1976, but no luck.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Here's the, uh, not quite a 'six-seater' version of the story on YouTube (boy, he really likes to remind us there was a hysterical woman in his story):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EMwKxmTLaCs

- Doc

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

Also, googling this story I noticed each time it's published (more or less recently) they claim the event happened 'several years ago'. What??? No.

Also also, apparently Rusty has been telling an increasingly embellished story where Africans broke into his house (not sure what country he was in), wanted to kidnap him and Wendy (which they conveniently said in English), broke her arm, and put a gun to his head pulling the trigger at one point - the jury is still out whether or not a round was actually fired into his dome.

- Doc

[tapirrider]

The problem appears to me that there is no online database that reports all "incidents" in 1976. The FAA's detailed online database starts in 1978. The NTSB doesn't investigate all incidents, and so absence from their database isn't conclusive. I tried to find a database of digitized paper copies of the accident/incident reports from 1976, but no luck.

Had an engine fire caused a forced landing in a field, there would be an incident report somewhere. It is true that it might not be found in an online database, but it would be found in a paper archive if such an event had actually occurred.

https://www.archives.gov/research/trans ... -accidents
Aircraft accident reports can be found in the Minutes of Meetings of the Civil Aeronautics Authority 1938-40 and the Civil Aeronautics Board, 1940-78 (MLR A1 E-34A, boxes 1-511) in the Office of the Secretary. The CAA minutes are arranged chronologically by year and the CAB minutes are arranged by year and month. There are accident reports, ranging from a paragraph to a several page report, located in each month of the minutes. The reports are submitted to the board anytime up to a year and a half after the date of the accident. Therefore, a search must be made of each month's minutes subsequent to the accident. The search involves checking the monthly index to determine the page number for the minutes. In some cases, particularly in the 1960's, the index will refer to a page listing board actions, which then refers you to an exhibit containing the accident reports.

The accident reports include, at a minimum:

information concerning the date
type of aircraft
owner
number of passengers
some mention of the circumstances of the accident