On this day in 1941, a Northwest Airlines passenger plane crashed north of Moorhead where the American Crystal Sugar plant would later stand. The flight originated in Minneapolis and was to land in Fargo, but as the plane flew over Barnesville, MN, pilot Clarence Bates noticed ice on his wings. As he descended to 600 feet, he realized he was in trouble.
“...everything just went haywire,” he said. “Nothing worked, nothing answered. I might just as well not have been (there)...it was hardly enough time for me to realize I was going to crash... we must have settled because I started to see lights...and I knew we were in a level position from the instruments...”

The plane burst into flames upon impact. Bates was the only survivor – he was somehow thrown clear and was found wandering 250 feet from the debris. Fourteen passengers were killed.

 

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