North American Airlines (N63396)
Unused card whose printed caption says “Written aboard one of North American Airlines Luxurious 4-Engine Skymasters”. The card shows cities and phone numbers where the airline had offices. What the card doesn’t show–and for the aircraft bearing this registration number N63396–is what we learned from one of our online sources: “The DC-4 was some 300 miles northeast of Adak (Alaska) when the crew reported flying 4500 feet on top in the clear. The flight was then cleared to the Adak range to maintain VFR on top and to call Adak approach control some 30 minutes before landing. At 17:15 AST the crew advised the company that it was cancelling IFR and proceeding VFR. This was the last radio contact with the flight. The DC-4 was found to have crashed on Sitkin Island at an elevation of 2100 feet (640 m).” This was on 24th September 1959, and all 16 persons on board perished. Grade: 1