U.S. District Court in Akron, Ohio (Sept. 2018)

This is an update to the initial tranche of records that I found and published about Thurman Munson’s fatal plane crash on August 2, 1979, an effort that New York Times reporter David Waldstein chronicled ahead of the 39th anniversary of Munson’s untimely death.

In light of the response to Waldstein’s article, I was inspired to ask the Federal Records Center (FRC) in Chicago to ship all of the documents concerning Mrs. Munson’s wrongful death lawsuit to the federal court in Akron (where the case had been litigated). According to the FRC, this was the only way that I would be allowed to examine the original documents. So I paid the shipping fee, waited a few weeks, and then drove to Akron in order to read more than 10,000 pages of litigation material in the court clerk’s office — and to squeeze in visits to Munson’s childhood home, his high school, and the crash site.

In sum, I have acquired an additional 13 documents totaling 1570 pages, all of which are posted below. They notably include two depositions that were previously missing: Dr. Charles Billings, an expert in aviation medicine, and Philip Bradley, who taught Munson how to fly the Citation jet. Equally important, I was able to verify that the case file does not contain the depositions of surviving passenger Jerry Anderson or Summit County coroner A.H. Kyriakides. Nor does the file contain the transcript of any proceedings before the jury other than plaintiff’s opening statement.

Five boxes of Munson litigation records

Interrogatories

Plaintiff’s Answers to Cessna’s Interrogatories, First Set — Damages: Among the notable facts disclosed are Munson’s prior residences (p. 4); his use of “greenies” (p. 6); job history (p.13); income from book royalties, television commercials, and endorsements (p. 15); and estimated future earnings from baseball and business investments (p. 25). Munson’s application for life insurance is attached as an exhibit (pp. 28–29). Although Munson’s income tax returns are included as exhibits in the case file, the FRC declined to copy them.

Plaintiff’s Answers to FlightSafety’s Interrogatories, First Set: Among the notable facts disclosed are descriptions of Munson’s flight training, flight experience, and related licenses (pp. 4–6); aircraft flown by Munson in the year before the fatal crash (p. 8); incidents Munson had with the Citation before his crash (p. 9); Munson’s medical history (pp. 52–54); names of the passengers who flew with Munson in the Citation (p. 69); and the total assets and liabilities of Munson’s estate (p. 69).

Depositions

Charles Billings, MD: Medical research officer at NASA who opined that Munson’s fatal flight performance was attributable to being “a tired fatigued person” who was complacent about the flight and “substantially preoccupied by a variety of things” (p. 25, 57). Dr. Billings noted, among other things, that Munson had been emotionally upset by a business-related phone call soon before the flight, according to the testimony of surviving passenger Jerry Anderson (p. 54). Dr. Billings died at the age of 81 on August 30, 2010.

John F. Burke: Economist who testified about Munson’s expected future compensation and asset accumulation. Munson’s contracts with the New York Yankees covering the years 1976 through 1981 are attached as exhibits to Burke’s deposition (pp. 106–121). Munson was not contractually prohibited from flying, nor did his death void his contract (pp. 119–120). Dr. Burke remains active as a professor and as a partner in his consulting firm Burke Rosen and Associates.

Martin Spector: Tax partner at Coopers and Lybrand who testified about Munson’s income tax returns. Notably, Munson owed no federal income tax from 1976 through 1979 as a result of investment “losses” and business expenses (p. 41). Although Munson’s income tax returns appear as exhibits in the case file, the FRC declined to copy them. Mr. Spector currently works at the firm CBIZ in Ohio.

Merwin Ward: Flight instructor with whom Munson first learned to fly during the spring of 1978 in Boca Raton, Florida. Ward testified that he found Munson to be “very, very bright, and and an excellent student” (pp. 14). According to Ward, Munson stated that he intended to quit baseball at the end of the 1978 season (pp. 26, 62, 119–121), and that he had made a million dollars without paying taxes (pp. 27, 84–85). Munson’s pilot logbook is attached as an exhibit to Ward’s deposition (pp. 143–211). Mr. Ward died at the age of 79 on February 4, 2003.

Philip Bradley: Former U.S. Air Force pilot and FlightSafety employee who trained Munson to fly the Citation jet from July 6, 1979 to July 16, 1979, when the New York Yankees were playing road games on the West Coast. Bradley’s flight logbook for Munson is attached as an exhibit to his deposition (p. 136). Bradley testified that Munson always used the plane’s shoulder harness during their flights (pp. 116–117). He believed — admittedly without any supporting evidence— that someone other than Munson must have been flying the Citation when it crashed, because the NTSB report did “not read like the same person I had flown with” (pp. 117–118). Bradley was not criticized or reprimanded by FlightSafety after Munson’s crash, which he took as a “tremendous shock” (p.119). Colonel Bradley died on May 19, 2015, at the age of 83.

Ronald Lueck: Former pilot for the U.S. Air Force and American Airlines who designed the pilot training program for Cessna’s Citation. Lueck opined in a lengthy deposition that FlightSafety exercised “very poor judgment” in training Munson to fly the Citation as a single pilot (pp. 176, 237), because the quantity of Munson’s flight experience had been “low” and the quality of his flight experience had been “less than optimum” (pp. 237, 244). In sum, Lueck regarded Munson as a “neophyte” pilot (p. 244). Lueck further opined that FlightSafety was negligent to employ “on-the-road” training for Munson instead of the company’s standard training course (p. 177). Mr. Lueck is now age 77 and lives in New Mexico.

William James: Munson’s business associate and a pilot with whom Munson flew and often spoke to about aviation matters. James “unequivocally told” Munson that he should not buy the Citation because of its operational costs (pp. 26–27, 43). Munson called James from Chicago on August 1, 1979, and invited him to fly in the Citation the next day (pp. 42–43). Munson also left a message with James’s secretary on the morning of Munson’s plane crash (p. 43). In December 1980, Flying Magazine published a letter that James wrote about Munson’s plane crash. Mr. James died on May 4, 2007, at the age of 67.

William Smith: Cessna sales manager who facilitated the sale of Munson’s Beechcraft Duke airplane in June 1979 for $285k (pp. 12, 52), as well as the sale of Munson’s Beechcraft King Air in September 1979 for $700k (pp. 21, 85). Munson attempted to sell his King Air a few months before he died (pp. 132–133), but one sale fell through (pp. 18, 66–74). Most of the paperwork associated with the sale of Munson’s planes is attached to Smith’s deposition (pp. 32–178). Mr. Smith is now 76 years old and lives in Tennessee.

Trial-related material

END NOTE: I am very thankful for the assistance of Sherry Stephens, an Archives Technician at the FRC who has diligently and patiently handled my numerous document requests over the past six months.