GODWIN, Steward W.
On Sunday December 8, 1963, Flight 214, a Pan American Airways Boeing 707, was returning to the U.S. from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Onboard were 73 passengers and 8 crew members. After refueling at Friendship Airport Baltimore, the plane continued north, destination Philadelphia. A heavy of out-of season thunderstorm was sweeping across the region and high winds in the area caused Flight 214, along with 5 other planes, to remain in a holding pattern just outside Elkton. Suddenly, having been struck by lightning, Flight 214 exploded and fell from the Elkton sky into a cornfield on Delancey Road. A general alarm went out requesting all available ambulances in Cecil County, and nearby Delaware and scores of local first responders rushed to the scene, including Firefighter Steward W. Godwin, who arrived on the North East VFC ambulance. Godwin and his fellow first responders had been searching for survivors in the rain-soaked debris field for several hours when, at approximately 130 am on December 9, 1963, he was stricken with a fatal heart attack and collapsed into the arms of a fellow first responder. North East Volunteer Fire Company Firefighter Steward W. Godwin was 56 years old.
Listing Details
House
North East Fire Company
Age
56
Years of Service
Unknown
County
CECIL
