William L. Durkin

William Lloyd Durkin (April 30, 1916 - April 29, 2006) was a United States Marine master sergeant most famous for rescuing Howard Hughes when the aviation pioneer's XF-11 reconnaissance plane crashed on July 7, 1946. [cite web
url=http://hqmc.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=175&Itemid=31
title=Marine For Life - William L. Durkin
publisher=hqmc.net
accessdate=2008-04-26
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Personal life

Durkin was born on April 30, 1916 in Oil City, Pennsylvania. [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/05/02/william_durkin_rescued_howard_hughes_in_crash/ "William Durkin, who rescued Howard Hughes from plane crash, dies at 89"] , Associated Press, (c/o "Boston Globe"), May 05, 2006] After suffering a heart attack, Durkin died in Palm Springs, California on April 29, 2006, the day before his 90th birthday.

Howard Hughes plane crash

Durkin rescued Howard Hughes who crashed on 7 July, 1946 while piloting the experimental U.S. Army reconnaissance XF-11 over Los Angeles, California. An oil leak caused one of the counter-rotating propellers to stop,cite web
url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/XF-11_crash_site.htm
title=Crash of the XF-11
publisher=www.check-six.com
accessdate=2008-04-26
last=
first=] which made the aircraft yaw sharply. Hughes tried to land on the Los Angeles Country Club golf course, but the plane dropped and crashed in the Beverly Hills neighborhood surrounding the country club.

The XF-11 hit three houses, before the fuel tanks exploded, setting fire to the aircraft and the third house. Hughes lay seriously injured beside the burning XF-11 until he was rescued by Durkin, who was in the area visiting James Guston, the son of Gosta B. Guston, a Swedish industrialist. [cite web
url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zST0HS3memIC&pg=PA653&lpg=PA653&dq=William+Lloyd+Durkin&source=web&ots=AZ1OeTEWrF&sig=n55xUMtB588nmCjHW-6x4eUqSzY&hl=en#PPA653,M1
title=Howard Hughes: Hell's Angel - Google Book Search
publisher=books.google.co.uk
accessdate=2008-04-26
last=
first=] Hughes sustained significant injuries in the crash; including a crushed collar bone, 24 broken ribs [ [http://www.library.unlv.edu/hughes/pages/XF11_first.html "Howard Hughes: XF-11"] . UNLV Libraries' Howard Hughes Collection. Retrieved: January 5, 2008.] and numerous third-degree burns.

ee also

References

External links

* [http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/XF-11_crash_site.htm The Crash of the XF-11, Check-six.com]