YOUR STORIES

I CANCELLED THE EASTBOUND FREIGHTER I had been with TWA abour 10 months. I was a Cargo Agent. This was spring of 1956, and I was working airfreight in STL. The eastbound freighter arrives, and of course it is parked at G-18. As far away as possible form operation. It wa very windy and was pouring rain.. I was taking freight to the freighter by fork lift. Freight was on a wooden pallett, and covered with plastic. It was no fun driving the fork lift, as was very difficult to see any thing. I knew that there was a drop off of abour 4 inches from the concrete tarmac to the black top. You had to get on the blacktop part to get to the door of the freighter. I was watching for the dropoff, and shielding my eyes from the rain. All of a sudden, CRUNCH!!   OH NO! I had hit the tail of the freighter. Since it could not be fixed that night it was cancelled. We had a hearing the next day with the supervisor on duty and the Station Manager. I figured Good Bye TWA. The supervisor and the Station manager said, that due to circumstances of the weather, and the drop off, they would not fire me, but please be more careful in the future. I was very careful . Bob Carter/STL

REFLECTIONS With the soon to be demise of TWA, I sometimes sit and reflect on my past 35 years and wish I had kept a diary of all of the things that I was witness to and many things forgotten. Looking at some of the stories from others, I say "Yes I remember that!" or That happened to me also. I started in the airline industry in 1964 with Lake Central Airlines in Ypsilanti (YIP) Michigan and remember the Huge ($40.00) a month raise I got going to TWA. I hired in just as we were moving to the brand new Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW). We had non stop flights to London and Paris. I remember that 707 taking every inch of the runway on takeoff. We also had nonstops to LAX ands SFO. Being in DTW meant we took all of the big Motown groups and celebs. We carried the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, the Jacksons and many others. I remember finding a quiet place for Ricky Nelson so he could be away from the public. We had streakers (2). Who can forget when we had US Marshalls and did our own security checks. If the Marshall found drugs on a psgr we would spend all day in court only to have the case thrown out. One of the worst days and nights I spent was when I had a couple looking for their unaccompanied son connecting from an OZ flight in STL. We found out that the OZ plane crashed at STL but had survivors. I had them in our VIP room all night until we could confirm that he did indeed die on the flight. I could not imagine the pain that they were going through. We lived through World Series fever where over 100,000 fans stormed the airport only to find out that the team landed at YIP instead. We were quizzed by the FBI when Jimmy Hoffa disappeared as to if we had heard certain pages in the terminal. DTW was a dumping ground for bodies. They were always finding one in the parking lot. Whenever Walter Reuther (UAW president) flew we could always count on a bomb threat. I remember when Randy Kramer called in that he was at the gate waiting for a jetway driver. I busted by behind to get to the gate to find nothing there. He arrived about 15 minutes later with a big grin. We had a lot of fun then and there was / is no greater PR rep for TWA than Randy Kramer. In MCI I was meeting a flight that ended up being hijacked just before landing. I was opening up TOL when Hoot Gibson brought the 727 JFK-MSP flight out of a freefall and landed safely in DTW. Looking at the A/C I could not understand how this airplane flew. When I used to meet late night flights in EWR, I used to marvel at the scenery. What better view then the twin towers of the World trade center. There are many more stories but I am rambling on. TWA has given me opportunities I never dreamed of. I have traveled the world and walked in the shadows of Kings and Queens. We have had good times as well as bad. However the bad times don't quite seem as bad as they were at the time. The ones that won't go away are - Flight 800 and the end of TWA. Goodbye friend.... we will miss you dearly! Mike..SAT

My last journey..4/30-5/7

I wanted another trip on these colors, so flew to Gatwick to make some special memories. Although it went all too quickly, my memories flooded my mind. all the flights as a family of 4. All the trips Mike and I made just the 2 of us. As a spouse, moving from city to city over 35 years, most of everything I have seen and done has been on TWA. Most all I own is due to the paycheck and hard work of Mike and all the employees working and retired. You gave me a dream life, as I make arrangements to go to my 40th high school reunion this summer, I cannot believe the history I have absorbed, the places I have been, walked where Kings and Queens and Popes and the ancients have walked, and played in the greatest of places..So thanks to all of you! And Trans World Airlines...... Carol, SAT

You made my flight special

Ft. 721....Gatwick to St. Louis 5/7

Last leg..Ft.553 to SAT

Cheers to each and every one of you.!
Have a good one!