References and Resources

References

Allen, R. S. (1966). Report on crash of Fokker F-10A transport near Bazaar, Kansas, in which six passengers, including Knute Rockne, and two pilots were killed [Unpublished notes]. Research Files, Box 005; Folder 5. Research file: Knute Rockne 1999-2006; Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City, Manuscript Collection.

Allen, R. S. (1966). Report on crash of Fokker F-10A transport near Bazaar, Kansas, in which six passengers, including Knute Rockne, and two pilots were killed [Unpublished notes]. Knute Rockne crash, 03-056, Box: 061, Folder: 17. Richard K. Smith Papers, 0259. Auburn University Special Collections and Archives.

Allen, R. S. (1986). More on the Fokker F-10A crash. AAHS Journal, 31, 228-239.

Anthony Fokker visits Texas. (1931, March 29). San Angelo Standard-Times. https://www.newspapers.com/image/779286401/

Airmail in NC999E safe. (1931, April 9). The Emporia Weekly Gazette. https://www.newspapers.com/image/4388222/

Aircraft Accounting Ledger, Box 008; Item 1. Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. aircraft accounting ledger: 1928-1961. Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City.

Airplane wreck kills eight. (1931, n.d.). Chase County Leader. Newspaper print from Chase County Historical Society, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

April 20, 1931. (2024). Timetableimages.com. https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/tw/tw3104/tw3104-1.jpg. Accessed March 25, 2025.

Bacon, J. (1977). Made in Hollywood. Contemporary Books, Incorporated.

Bibel, G. D. (2008). Beyond the black box: The forensics of airplane crashes. Johns Hopkins University Press.

County Coroner. (1931). Coroner’s inquest report. Chase County Historical Society, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

Correspondence, Lou E. Holland, Managing Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Kansas City, MO, April 2, 1931. Chase County Historical Society, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

Dierikx, M. L. J. (1997). Fokker: A transatlantic biography. Smithsonian Institution Press.

Dierikx, M. L. J. (2018). Anthony Fokker: The Flying Dutchman who shaped American aviation. Smithsonian Books.

Doyle, J. (1984, March 29). Was Rockne victim of mob sabotage? The South Bend Tribune, 37. https://www.newspapers.com/image/517977405/

Eckert, W. G. (1982). The Rockne crash: American commercial air crash investigation in the early years. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 3(1), 17–27.

Elson Takes 1st Prize in Turn Society Meet. (1932, March 4). Brooklyn Daily Eagle. https://www.newspapers.com/

February 1, 1931. (2024). Timetableimages.com. https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/tw/tw3102/tw3102-2.jpg. Accessed March 25, 2025.

Friedman, H. M., & Friedman, A. K. (2001, May). The legacy of the Rockne crash. Aeroplane magazine.

Gieschen, O. (1994). A0006, Johnny Guy [Interview]. TWA Oral History Project, 1993-2013 (K0482), The State Historical Society of Missouri, Oral History Collection.

Gieschen, O. (1995). A0007, Johnny Guy [Interview]. TWA Oral History Project, 1993-2013 (K0482), The State Historical Society of Missouri, Oral History Collection.

Gieschen, O. (1998). The Kansas City airline legacy of Knute Rockne. Kawsmouth, 1(1), 26-33.

Guzzetti, J., & Nicklaus, B. (2003). From the Wright Flyer to the Space Shuttle: A historical perspective of aircraft accident investigation. ISASI 2003 Proceedings, 17-25.

Incident Files, Box 133; folder Accident – March 31, 1931; Trans World Airlines (TWA) Records (K0453); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City, Manuscript Collection.

Ingells, D. J. (1966). The plane that changed the world: A biography of the DC-3. Aero Publishers.

Johnson, R. (2000). The “Rock”: The role of the press in bringing about change in aircraft accident policy. Journal of Air Transportation World Wide, 5(1), 37-59.

Komons, N. A. (1978). Bonfires to beacons: Federal civil aviation policy under the Air Commerce Act, 1926-1938. United States Department of Transportation, Federal Administration: United States Government Printing Office.

Knute Rockne and 7 others killed as plane crashes. (1931, April 1). Daily News. https://www.newspapers.com/image/413922820/

Ley, T. (2024). Was Knute Rockne killed by the mob? Tracing the origins of one of the stranger urban legends in sports. Deadspin. https://deadspin.com/was-knute-rockne-killed-by-the-mob-tracing-the-origins-5917423/ Accessed March 23, 2025.

Peck, E. (2013). Ancestor aircraft of TWA, Part 3. AAHS, Winter 2013, 301-308.

Pisano, D. (1991/1992). The crash that killed Knute Rockne. Air & Space, December 1991/January 1992, 88-93.

Prose and romance. (1931, April 9). The Emporia Weekly Gazette. https://www.newspapers.com/image/4388169/

Reed, B. C. (1989). The forgotten Rockne crash. The Vintage Airplane, 17(1), 23-24.

Research Files, Box 005; Folder 5. Research file: Knute Rockne 1999-2006; Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City, Manuscript Collection.

Salo, M. (1983). Crash of the TWA Fokker F-10A. AAHS Journal, 23, 178–180.

Schatzberg, E. (1999). Wings of wood, wings of metal: Culture and technical choice in American airplane materials, 1914-1945. Princeton University Press.

Serling, R. J. (1976). The only way to fly: The story of Western Airlines, America’s senior air carrier. Doubleday.

Smith, R. (2021, April). Another 90th anniversary – Knute Rockne and the crash of NC999E, March 31st 1931. Rambles in the Air. https://airbornerambler.wordpress.com/2021/03/31/another-90th-anniversary-knute-rockne-and-nc999e-march-31st-1931/ Accessed March 20, 2025.

Traffic Department Report of Accident at Bazaar, Kansas, March 31, 1931; Research Files, Box 005; Folder 5. Research file: Knute Rockne 1999-2006; Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City, Manuscript Collection.

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce. (1936). Safety in air. Part 1: Hearings before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Subcommittee on S. Res. 146, Seventy-Fourth Congress, second session, on Feb. 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, Apr. 6, 1936. U.S. Government Printing Office.

Wheeling, A. (2020, March 31). A crash of coincidences. Archiving Wheeling. https://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/a-crash-of-coincidences

Archival Resources

Chase County Historical Society and Research Library in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, holds a collection of items related to the 1931 crash and memorial nearby. They do not have a finding aid or library catalog available online, but you may contact them for research assistance.

The State Historical Society of Missouri holds TWA records that were donated by the TWA museum. The following are records I have identified as related to the March 31, 1931 crash. This list is not exhaustive; there may be other files that hold information and I will update.

Incident Files, Box 133; folder Accident – March 31, 1931; Trans World Airlines (TWA) Records (K0453); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City, Manuscript Collection.

Research Files, Box 005; Folder 5, Research File: Knute Rockne 1999-2006; Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City, Manuscript Collection.

Research Files, Box 005; Folder 6, Correspondence, research, photographs: Rockne Crash 2001-2006; Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City, Manuscript Collection.

Research Files, Box 005; Folder 7. Notebook: Accident at Bazaar, Kansas – March 31, 1931; Knute Rockne, Transcontinental and Western Air, flight 3, Rockne memorial, research, articles 2006; Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City, Manuscript Collection.

Research Files, Box 005; Folder 8. Articles written by Ona Gieschen about crash in Bazaar Kansas, killing Knute Rockne, Correspondence; Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City.

Research Files, Box 005; Folder 19. Correspondence: Richard S. Allen to Ona Gieschen 1998; Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City.

Aircraft Accounting Ledger, Box 008; Item 1. Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. aircraft accounting ledger: 1928-1961; Ona M. Gieschen Papers (K0562); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City. Accessed –NOTE: A research request did not turn up a page for NC999E, but the ledger does contain information about the other F-10As owned by TWA.

Gieschen, O. (1994). A0006, Johnny Guy [Interview]. TWA Oral History Project, 1993-2013 (K0482), The State Historical Society of Missouri, Oral History Collection.

Gieschen, O. (1995). A0007, Johnny Guy [Interview]. TWA Oral History Project, 1993-2013 (K0482), The State Historical Society of Missouri, Oral History Collection.

The Empire State Aerosciences Museum holds the Rick Allen Aviation Collection. Rick Allen conducted extensive research on the 1931 crash. They do not have a finding aid or library catalog available online. .

Auburn University Special Collections and Archives hold the Richard K. Smith Papers. Richard K. Smith was a historian at the National Air and Space Museum and his papers include documents and photos of the 1931 crash.

Knute Rockne crash, 03-056, Box: 061, Folder: 17. Richard K. Smith Papers, 0259. Auburn University Special Collections and Archives. Accessed December 3, 2024.

Knute Rockne Shrine – Bazaar, Kansas, 03-056, Box: 098, Folder: 147. Richard K. Smith Papers, 0259. Auburn University Special Collections and Archives.

Knute Rockne Crash , 1931, 03-056, Box: 099, Folders: 72-85. Richard K. Smith Papers, 0259. Auburn University Special Collections and Archives. NOTE-These folders contain negatives of the plane crash. I have not viewed them; this information was related to me by the archivist.

As you can imagine, the University of Notre Dame Archives has a vast collection of documents, objects, and audio-visual material on Knute Rockne and the 1931 crash, including portions of the plane. You can find these items in the Notre Dame Athletics Collection, but I recommend connecting with an archivist in order to maximize your search.