COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County will dedicate a memorial May 19 at the Los Alamos County Airport to commemorate the tragic crash of Ross Aviation Flight 7 that took the lives of the pilot and eight Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory employees 51 years ago.
County officials seek the public’s assistance in contacting the family members of those who perished in that crash.
Chartered by the Atomic Energy Commission to transport employees from Albuquerque to Los Alamos, the twin-engine light aircraft crashed May 19, 1972, shortly after takeoff. There were no survivors.
According to the accident report prepared by the National Transportation Safety Board, the probable cause was the “inadvertent opening of the forward cargo compartment door and the subsequent discharge of cargo,” damaging the left propeller.
Those on board were:
- Mr. Bruce A. Bean
- Mr. William P. Frye
- Mr. Johnnie E. Gallegos
- Mr. John A Gill
- Dr. Wright H. Langham
- Mr. Donald A. Larson
- Mr. Richard O. Niethammer
- Mr. Eugene T. Teatum
- Mr. Richard T. Zettel, Pilot
Anyone with contact information for the victims’ families is encouraged to email or call Deputy County Manager Linda Matteson at lacmanager@lacnm.us or 505.663.1750.