CAMILLE
BOHANNON

On July 23, 1982, Vic Morrow and two child actors, Renee Shinn
Chen and Myca Dinh Le, are killed in an accident involving a
helicopter during filming on the California set of Twilight Zone:
The Movie. Morrow, age 53, and the children, ages six and seven,
were shooting a Vietnam War battle scene in which they were
supposed to be running from a pursuing helicopter. Special-
effects explosions on the set caused the pilot of the low-flying
craft to lose control and crash into the three victims. The accident
took place on the film’s last scheduled day of shooting.

Twilight Zone co-director John Landis (Blues Brothers, Trading
Places, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and four other men
working on the film, including the special-effects coordinator and
the helicopter pilot, were charged with involuntary manslaughter. According to a 1987 New York Times report, it was the first time
a film director faced criminal charges for events that occurred
while making a movie.

Victor Morrow (Victor Morozoff)
(February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982)

On this day in 1933, aviator Wiley Post returned to Floyd Bennett
Field in New York, having flown solo around the world in 7 days,
18 hours, and 49 minutes. He was the first aviator to accomplish
the feat.

Post, instantly recognizable by the patch he wore over one eye,
began the journey on July 15, flying nonstop to Berlin. After a
brief rest, he flew on to the Soviet Union, where he made several
stops before returning to North America, with stops in Alaska,
Canada, and finally a triumphant landing at his starting point in
New York.

Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935)

     
MIKE GRACIA

President Nixon shakes hands with Premier Chou En-lai of
the People’s Republic of China. Nixon’s trip to China was
to seek a “normalization of relations.”

On July 12, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower (left) became the first president to ride in a helicopter.

Although experimental military helicopters had been tested since
1947, it was not until 10 years later that a president considered
using the new machine for short, official trips to and from the
White House. Eisenhower suggested the idea to the Secret
Service, which approved of the new mode of transportation,
seeing it as safer and more efficient than the traditional
limousine motorcade.

 
The Bell H-13J helicopter pictured on Presidents Day,2018.