By LEO RODRIGUEZ
RGV History
Not even the legendary Edgar Allan Poe could have written a script as bizarre as this one that occurred over the skies of San Benito, in February 1933. This incident was the first aerial murder on record in the United States. The tragedy shocked the great state of Texas and the rest of the nation, a tale of adventure that ended in senseless tragedy.
FEBRUARY 23, 1933
A most intriguing piece of history occurred in the outskirts of San Benito, 1,00 feet up in the air.
Erin McCall, a 20-year-old student flyer from San Benito, was taken flying lessons, his instructor, Lehman Nelson, 33-years-old, was at the controls. McCall was sitting in the back seat of the dual controlled airplane, then suddenly fired a shot into his instructor Nelson’s head, in mid-air, as they were flying over the small community of San Benito, killing the young pilot instructor.
The pilotless plane descended at a rapid speed, but was able to land in an upright position, close to the old race track. Upon landing the plane tipped on its nose, a San Benito farmer, Mr. George Weitzel, who was working his land, heard the sound of an airplane, looked up, and to his astonishment, saw a lifeless form hanging over the cockpit, and also saw someone sitting in the backseat of the plane.
Other farmers also heard the airplane, and started running towards the site of the downed aircraft. As they approached, they saw a man, later identified as Erin McCall, jump out of the airplane, running away from the scene.
What they did not know, though, was that McCall had stopped running, placed a gun to his head, and had killed himself. The fact that Nelson’s body was cold when witnesses arrived at the scene of the downed aircraft led officers to believe McCall had shot him sometime before the plane reached the ground.
The aerial murder, the first of its kind, was picked up by newswires throughout the nation, most major media outlets covered this incident, and regularly updated their viewing audience as details were unearthed. It took authorities a couple of days to sort out exactly what the motive was behind this bizarre tragedy.
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