Saturday's crash wasn't the first aerial collision over Superior. In January of 1952, two U.S. Air Force fighter planes from the 109th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron out of St. Paul collided in mid-air over downtown Superior. As with Saturday's crash, neither of the pilots was injured in what an Evening Telegram article called a "spectacular mishap."
One of the green and white-nosed P-51 fighters crashed in the back yards of the homes of Mr. and Mrs. John Ryan, 1208 Cumming Ave. and Mr. and Mrs. Hjalmer Carlson, 1210 Cumming Ave., according to the article in the Jan. 11, 1952, paper. The plane roared neatly down into the yard missing not only the house but garages and even telephone and power wires. The pilot of that plane, Capt. David W. Winn, parachuted to safety. The other plane, piloted by Capt. Laudell Hames, made a "belly landing" on the ice of St. Louis Bay about three-fourths of a mile south of the Arrowhead Bridge.
Winn's plane fell into the back yards of the two residences, between the garages and the houses, and burned immediately. Superior firemen contended with live, exploding bullets while drowning the flames with spray and foam, the Telegram reported. None of the bystanders were injured by the flying parts or exploding ammunition.
It was thought that the two fighters were on a routine flight when they collided several thousand feet in the air. Winn told a Superior woman that he was making a turn when the plane in his rear clipped off the tail. He did sustain an injury to his head, but was able to get up under his own power and inform the Duluth airport of the accident. He told the woman that he could not open his parachute immediately because the plane was following him down and he feared it would catch on the chute.
