Sad news yet again...
In January of 2000 I was "detailed" from my ARFF Training position on the Chicago Fire Department to a 5-6 month stint with AS-60, the Survival Factors Group of the NTSB.
My time there was one of the most rewarding jobs
associated with my profession in the field of firefighting in general and ARFF specifically. My Chief during that time was Nora Marshall, a kind hearted, soft spoken yet extremely serious woman when it came to aviation safety, specifically the survivability of aviation accidents, which included ARFF.
Last night I learned that Nora had passed away peacefully on Sunday with her husband John and family by her side.
I'm sure there are a number of you "older" folks out there who knew of Nora who spent 28 years investigating aircraft crash survivability. At the NTSB she authored special studies related to aviation safety, developed aviation safety and crash survival courses used internationally, and oversaw over 250 investigations. She earned numerous awards along the way. She finished her career at the NTSB as the Board’s Human Performance and Survival Factors Division Chief.
When I worked with Nora and her team at the time, Mark George, Jason Fedok and Cindy Keegan were like family to me with Nora as the head of the family. She took me under her wing and taught me how to write investigative reports as well as supporting my recommendations to push for changes in aviation safety in ARFF. More importantly, we became friends and remained friends over the past 26 years.
I will miss her dearly, as a friend as well as someone who had the passion to fight for change for all who are involved and affected by aviation safety, including my Brothers and Sisters in the ARFF profession.
My thoughts and prayers to Nora, her husband John and her entire family.
May She Rest in Peace...
Now here are the stories for today...
Be safe out there!
Tom
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Nora C. Marshall - RIP
Nora Carol Marshall, 79, passed away peacefully on October 4, 2026, at home in Sonoma.
Nora grew up in Port Costa, among numerous aunts, uncles and cousins of her beloved Mahoney clan, many of whom continue to live in the area today. When she was 10 she moved to Concord with her parents, Harold and Alice Marshall.
After earning an anthropology degree at U.C. Santa Barbara, Nora joined World Airways, where she worked for 16 years as a flight attendant. She was an active member of the flight attendants’ union and represented the union in numerous contract negotiations. Over time she became a flight attendant instructor, developing safety training programs that would presage the next phase of her career as a transportation safety investigator.
In 1984, Nora moved to Washington, D.C. to join the National Transportation Safety Board’s Office of Aviation Safety, where she would spend the next 28 years investigating aircraft crash survivability. At the NTSB she authored special studies related to aviation safety, developed aviation safety and crash survival courses used internationally, and oversaw over 250 investigations. She earned numerous awards along the way. She finished her career as the Board’s Human Performance and Survival Factors Division Chief.
In her spare time in the nation’s capital, she became a docent at the National Air and Space Museum, giving tours to visiting dignitaries.
Nora had an adventurous spirit, to which her first career as a flight attendant was perfectly suited. The job allowed her not only to travel the world but to take long stretches of time to pursue one of her great passions: skiing with her work friends, with whom she would form lifelong bonds.
In 1995 Nora married her beloved husband, John Petrakis. They lived in Alexandria, Virginia until 2010, when they retired and moved to Sonoma. Nora was an avid quilter and bridge player. She also loved musical theater and was a devoted fan and long-time supporter of the Sonoma-based Transcendence Theatre Company.
A true “warrior,” Nora battled mightily for three years with brain cancer, overcoming every setback along the way with grace and determination, maintaining her positive spirit to the end.
Nora is predeceased by her father Harold, and by her mother Alice, who lived to be 102. She is survived by her husband John, stepdaughter Alexandre Petrakis, stepson-in-law Bill White, step grandchildren Benjamin and Thalia White, and many cousins and other members of her extended family, all of whom love her dearly.
A celebration of life will be planned for a later date. Details of time and location will be shared when available.
Pilot injured in plane crash in Yuma agricultural field
Deputies found the pilot, the only person aboard, responsive inside the single-engine aircraft before Rural Metro crews freed them.
BY SERENA O'SULLIVAN
A pilot was injured when a small plane crashed in an agricultural field in Yuma on Monday morning, according to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office. 
Deputies responded to a report of the crash near West County 12th Street and South Avenue G around 8:19 a.m.
They found the pilot responsive inside the single-engine aircraft. Rural Metro crews freed the pilot, who was the only person aboard.
No details about the pilot’s age or gender were released. The pilot was taken to Onvida Health, a medical center in Yuma, for treatment.
The crash remains under investigation. The sheriff’s office did not release information about what caused the crash.
Anyone with information can contact the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office at 928-783-4427 or submit an anonymous tip by calling 78-CRIME or visiting the office’s website.
https://ktar.com/arizona-news/yuma-plane-crash-pilot-injured
Pilot injured in plane crash in Yuma agricultural field
Deputies found the pilot, the only person aboard, responsive inside the single-engine aircraft before Rural Metro crews freed them.
BY SERENA O'SULLIVAN
A pilot was injured when a small plane crashed in an agricultural field in Yuma on Monday morning, according to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a report of the crash near West County 12th Street and South Avenue G around 8:19 a.m.
They found the pilot responsive inside the single-engine aircraft. Rural Metro crews freed the pilot, who was the only person aboard.
No details about the pilot’s age or gender were released. The pilot was taken to Onvida Health, a medical center in Yuma, for treatment.
The crash remains under investigation. The sheriff’s office did not release information about what caused the crash.
Anyone with information can contact the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office at 928-783-4427 or submit an anonymous tip by calling 78-CRIME or visiting the office’s website.
https://ktar.com/arizona-news/yuma-plane-crash-pilot-injured
NTSB Final Report: Pipistrel Taurus Electro G2.5
The Glider Then Entered An Aerodynamic Stall And Spin
Location: Hempstead, Texas Accident Number: CEN26LA294
Date & Time: August 15, 2026, 16:44 Local Registration: N984TP
Aircraft: Pipistrel Taurus Electro G2.5 Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of control in flight Injuries: 1 Minor
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
Analysis: The pilot of the electric motor glider stated that in preparation for descent and landing to the destination airport, he selected the system enable switch to off instead of selecting the motor mast position selector to down. The motor then windmilled, which resulted in the motor and mast losing power, and the glider quickly lost airspeed.
The glider then entered an aerodynamic stall and spin. The pilot stated that in an attempt to recover from the spin, he pushed down on the control stick and applied rudder, but the glider pitched up violently. While in an unusual attitude and at a low altitude, the pilot was unable to regain control and deployed the ballistic parachute.
During the deployment, the parachute rocket went through the right wing, but the parachute still deployed and the glider impacted terrain in an inverted attitude. The glider sustained substantial damage to the right wing.
The pilot attributed the rapid loss of the glider’s airspeed due to the drag induced from the windmilling propeller and thought that the windmilling propeller also inhibited airflow over the vertical and horizontal stabilizer, which prevented recovery from the stall and spin.
The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the glider that precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot’s failure to properly stow the motor in preparation for approach and landing that resulted in a loss of airspeed and an inadvertent aerodynamic stall and spin.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
71 Years ago today: On 6 October 1955 United Airlines flight UA409, a Douglas DC-4, impacted Medicine Bow Peak, WYyoming, USA, killing all 66 occupants.
| Date: | Thursday 6 October 1955 |
| Time: | 07:26 |
| Type: | Douglas DC-4 |
| Owner/operator: | United Airlines |
| Registration: | N30062 |
| MSN: | 18389 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1944 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 28755 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W R-2000-11 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 66 / Occupants: 66 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Medicine Bow Peak, WY - United States of America |
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Denver-Stapleton International Airport, CO (DEN/KDEN) |
| Destination airport: | Salt Lake City International Airport, UT (SLC/KSLC) |
| Investigating agency: | CAB |
| Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:
United Airlines flight UA409, a Douglas DC-4, impacted Medicine Bow Peak, WYyoming, USA, killing all 66 occupants.
United Air Lines Flight 409 originated at New York, NY on October 5, 1955, destination San Francisco, CA, with intermediate stops including Chicago, IL; Denver, CO; and Salt Lake City, UT. The trip to Denver was routine.
At Denver the flight was dispatched to Salt Lake City via airways V-4, V-118, V-6, and V-32 to cruise at 10,000 feet, and to fly in accordance with Visual Flight Rules (VFR). The estimated time en route was two hours and 33 minutes. The only obligatory reporting point along the route was Rook Springs, WY.
The flight departed Denver at 06:33. Flight 409 reported its time off to the company and this was the last known radio contact with the flight.
When the flight failed to report at Rock Springs at 08:11, its estimated reporting time, repeated efforts were made to establish radio contact with it. These were unsuccessful and the company then declared an emergency. A widespread search was immediately initiated. At approximately 11:40 the same day the wreckage was sighted near Medicine Bow Peak, 33 miles west of Laramie, WY. The Laramie weather at 07:28 was: Scattered clouds, 5,500 feet; visibility 40 miles; wind west-northwest 13 knots; snow showers of unknown intensity over the mountains.
The aircraft struck the almost vertical rock cliff of the east slope of Medicine Bow Peak (elevation 12,005 feet) located in the Medicine Bow Mountains. The crash occurred at an elevation of 11,570 feet, 60 feet below the top of that portion of the mountain directly above it.
The accident site was 20 miles west off course.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The action of the pilot in deviating from the planned route for reasons unknown."
