Bonanza Air Lines
Fairchild F-27A N145L (c/n 29)
In 1957 Bonanza
ordered six new Fairchild F-27s, dubbing them "Silver Darts", in
deference
no doubt to the Rolls Royce power
plants. Options on another seven was exercised in the
early 1960s.
By the time the first (N145L above) was delivered in January of
1959, Bonanza
had been granted
a Los Angeles to Las Vegas route (albeit with a stop in Ontario) in
direct
competition with Western Air
Lines. To compensate for the stop in Ontario, the fare was
considerably lower, In fact, in
order conserve my non-rev passes (I worked for Western at
the time) I
would frequently fly Bonanza's F-27s to 'Vegas. In
1964 all the Fairchilds were
re-registered in the N74xx series,
N145L becoming N745L. Not long after, on the evening
of 15 November 1964, N145L was working
Flight 114 inbound to McCarren Field, Las Vegas,
when it struck a mountain southwest of
the city. The visibility was bad at the time and snow was
falling. All 26 passengers and
three crew were killed. Seen below is a blurry color
image
(courtesy Bonanza Air Lines) of a Silver
Dart over the landmark Hoover Dam, circa 1959.
Fairchild F-27A
N149L (c/n
63)