• On December 17, 1954, a
Miller Brewing Company plane, a converted twin-engine
Lockheed Ventura bound for
Winnipeg on a Friday evening, had trouble with both engines and crashed shortly after takeoff from Mitchell Field. All four on board were killed, which included company president
Fred Miller and his oldest son, 20-year-old Fred Jr., and the two company pilots, brothers Joseph and Paul Laird. • On August 4, 1968, a
Convair CV-580, flying as
North Central Airlines Flight 261, collided in mid-air with a rented
Cessna 150F southwest of the airport. The Cessna was destroyed, but its cabin remained embedded in the Convair's forward baggage compartment; the Cessna's three occupants were killed. The Convair made a safe emergency landing at Milwaukee. The Cessna was on a
VFR flight from
Lombard, Illinois to
Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in
Sheboygan Falls. It was determined that the inability of the Convair 580 flight crew to detect the Cessna 150 visually in sufficient time to take evasive action, despite having been provided with three radar traffic advisories, caused the crash. Visual detection capabilities were reduced by the heavy accumulation of insect smears on the windows of the Convair. Visibility was further reduced by haze, smoke and sunglare, and by the inconspicuous color and lack of relative motion of the Cessna. • On January 29, 1969, a
Boeing KC-97, operated by the
Wisconsin Air National Guard, crashed just short of the runway on
final approach. The weather was foggy with a visibility of a half mile. Four of the 11 people on board were killed, and the plane was damaged beyond repair. • On January 22, 1971,
Northwest Airlines Flight 433 was hijacked after taking off from Milwaukee to
Detroit, Michigan. The hijacker demanded to be taken to
Algeria, but landed in
Cuba. • On July 27, 1974, a USMC Hawker Siddeley AV-8A Harrier crashed during a hover maneuver at as part of an air show demonstration flight. The impact of the crash initiated the firing of the pilot's ejection seat and the pilot survived. • On September 6, 1985,
Midwest Express Flight 105, Midwest's first and only fatal accident, crashed upon takeoff from Milwaukee. One of the airline's
Douglas DC-9s crashed while taking off, bound for
Atlanta's
Hartsfield International Airport. According to
NTSB reports, the crash was caused by improper pilot reaction when the plane's right engine failed due to
stress corrosion cracking. The improper flight control inputs caused an uncommanded roll and accelerated stall. The 31 people on board died. • On December 10, 1993, a Wisconsin Air National Guard KC-135, was undergoing avionics maintenance when an explosion occurred in the center fuel tank. The plane caught fire and killed six maintenance personnel on the ground. The explosion was believed to be from an overheated fuel pump. • On September 11, 2001, Midwest Express Flight 7, a
DC-9 from MKE to LGA came within 30 feet of United Airlines Flight 175 and had to do two steep dives, injuring two flight attendants and two passengers who were not in their seats. • On January 21, 2007, a
Northwest Airlines DC-9, Northwest Airlines Flight 1726 skidded off the end of a snowy
runway at Milwaukee International Airport. The accident was due to an explosion in one of the engines, forcing the pilot to abort takeoff. The aircraft was headed for
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and was to continue on to
Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Amongst the 104 people aboard, only one back injury was reported. • On January 23, 2007, two
Freight Runners Express cargo planes collided and burned on a
taxiway. Both pilots were able to escape without injury. The planes were a
Cessna 402 and a
Beech 99. An
NTSB investigation determined both pilots and air traffic control were at fault for the accident. • On June 4, 2007, a Cessna Citation II crashed after reporting a runaway trim tab. The pilot issued a distress signal within five minutes after taking off. The plane then crashed into Lake Michigan two miles (3 km) off shore. The plane was carrying an organ transplant team from the
University of Michigan back to
Willow Run Airport. There was a crew of two and four passengers aboard. All six died. ==See also==