Born: 05/01/1897
Died: 04/14/1953
Inducted:
10/16/1993
David
L. Behncke was born on a farm near Cambria, Wisconsin. Airline
pilots revere him as the founder and long time president of the Air
Line Pilots Association.
In
1913 Behncke, at age 16, ran away to Milwaukee to enlist in the
Army. Lacking any documentation of his age, and looking younger than
his reported 18 years, the recruiters turned him down.
Finally,
his father allowed him to join the Army in 1916 and later, as a
corporal, Behncke won his enlisted pilot's wings in San Diego. He
was awarded a second lieutenant's commission in 1917 and served as a
flight instructor. He was first discharged from the Army in 1919.
Behncke would serve in the Army on three separate occasions; 1916 -
1919, 1925 and 1927 - 1928.
Beginning in 1920 he barnstormed around the
Midwest with Behncke's Flying Circus and then in September, 1921 he
won the Chicago Air Derby. He covered the race-course distance of 55
miles in 49 minutes. He
owned and served as the airport manager for Checkerboard Flying
Field in Maywood, IL outside of Chicago from 1921 through 1923.
He flew the "air express" flying men's suits
for Society Brand Clothes to nearby cities.
Early in 1926 Behncke was the first pilot hired by Charles Dickenson, a
Minneapolis businessman who held the first private airmail contract
for service between Minneapolis and Chicago. Dickenson
Air Lines eventually became Northwest Airways and later Northwest
Airlines. Northwest Airways began passenger service on February 1,
1927 when Behncke flew the carrier’s first passengers.
Finding
himself again a civilian pilot in search of another job in 1928 he
flew for Boeing Air Transport, later United Airlines, on the Chicago
to Omaha run.
He organized the Air Line Pilots Association in
1931serving as president until 1951. He did much to promote airline
safety and was respected by pilots flying for all airlines.
Behncke
wanted an independent federal agency to investigate accidents as
early as 1937. He was the first to advocate the concept that would
ultimately become, in 1966, the National Transportation Safety
Board.
For
a detailed history of the Air Line Pilots Association and Behncke
read the book, Flying the Line by George E. Hopkins.
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