Scarce early ALS signed “Lindbergh,” one page both sides, 8.5 x 11, Robertson Aircraft Corporation letterhead, October 12, 1926. Letter to his friend “Dub.” In part: “Glad to hear from you and find you as unmarried as ever. Guess I will beat you to it altho my prospects are not quite as good now as they were in Wisconsin. There isn’t much to tell about leaving that ship. Two things went wrong. The flare did not function properly and someone neglected to put in a large gasoline tank so that instead of carrying 119 gallons as well thot [sic], the plane had only 89 gal. I was only about 25 miles from the edge of the fog when the tanks went dry…The air mail flying is O.K., but on this run our equipment is not satisfactory. I doubt that one of our ships would pass a competent inspector. We have flown six weeks and over now at night but we have almost no lighting equipment. I have decided to leave this Corporation next spring and look around for one with higher standards.” In fine condition, with intersecting folds, one through a single letter of signature, and a bit of light toning to reverse. Accompanied by two original news clippings reporting on the event.
Five months into his work as the chief pilot for Contract Air Mail Route #2, the course for which he mapped out himself, Lindbergh suffered his third highly publicized crash in the service of the Robertson Aircraft Corporation. Contending with heavily fogged skies, and forced to change course and head back to Peoria, his engine began to sputter. Before he was able to find a clear landing field, the engine died, forcing him to jump out of the plane and parachute to safety. Responding to an inquiry about the event, Lindbergh explains the neglect that caused the disaster: “The flare did not function properly and someone neglected to put in a large gasoline tank so that instead of carrying 119 gallons as well thot [sic], the plane had only 89 gal.” Fed up with the unsatisfactory equipment and incompetent inspectors, he announces his plans to leave the company, which he did in February of 1927 to begin working on the design and construction of his famous Spirit of St. Louis. Letters from this early in Lindbergh’s career are quite scarce and highly sought after—with its extraordinary account of a major event, this is one of the finest! Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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