Plane Crash Victims Trivia Quiz

Answer: Roald Amundsen

Amundsen and five crewmembers disappeared on June 18, 1928. It is believed their French Lathan 47 flying boat went down in fog. Their bodies have never been found.

Amundsen is also credited with being the first explorer to cross the Northwest Passage in the Arctic.

Answer: Knute Rockne

On the occasion of Rockne's death, President Hoover called it "a national loss." Haakon VII, King of Norway (where Rockne was born), knighted Rockne posthumously and sent a personal envoy to the funeral.

Rockne's death resulted in a national outcry demanding, and resulting in, sweeping changes to aircraft design and safety standards.

Answer: Will Rogers

Recognized as the voice of the "common man" during the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, Will Rogers was born in 1879 in Indian Territory, which would later be Oklahoma. He was 1/4 Cherokee. He would become a vaudeville performer, newspaper columnist, star of stage and screen, national commentator, and America's best-known humorist. Ironically, he was a great advocate of the rising airline industry and his death was a consequence of efforts by Post and himself to help further develop it.

Hopalong Cassidy was a fictional cowboy, most famously played by William Boyd in the movies.

Answer: Carole Lombard

Lombard, her mother, and her husband's press agent were returning to California after doing a war bonds promotion in her home state of Indiana. The other two were afraid of flying, but Carole won a coin toss to convince them to take a scheduled flight to save time, rather than a train. All 22 people on board, including 15 servicemen, were killed instantly.

Answer: Glenn Miller

Miller had requested that the Army accept him into service to lead an army band, which they did in 1942. He was subsequently promoted to major and led the Army Air Force band. He was flying to France to make arrangements to transfer the band there when his plane disappeared in foul weather.

As a soldier Miller earned the Bronze Star along with the Marksmanship Badge and an American Campaign Medal.

Answer: Marshall University football team

On November 14, 1970, 37 Marshall players, along with the coach, team doctor, and the school's athletic director died when the chartered plane crashed two miles from the airport. The recovery of Marshall football is the subject of "We Are Marshall", a 2006 film.

Sixteen Cal Poly football players died when the plane carrying them crashed on takeoff in Toledo, Ohio, on 29 October, 1960. A total of 22 out of 48 passengers on the flight died.

Sabena Flight 548 crashed in Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961, killing 18 members of the U.S. Figure Skating team, along with 54 other passengers.

On April 3, 1961, Chile's Green Cross soccer team were on LAN Flight 310 when it crashed in the Las Limas Mountains in Chile, killing all 24 people aboard.

Answer: Jim Reeves

The passenger along with Reeves was his manager, Dean Manuel. His other number one country hits included "The Best", "Up Through the Years", and "Distant Drums."

All three incorrect answers were also victims of plane crashes in the 1960s. Cowboy Copas was a country singer who perished along with Patsy Cline on March 5, 1963. Bill Linderman was a world champion rodeo cowboy who died on November 11, 1965.

Answer: Rocky Marciano

Marciano defended his title six times and reigned from 1952 to his retirement in 1956. His 43 knockouts in 49 matches is one of the highest KO percentages ever. Sylvester Stallone says Marciano was the inspiration for his character Rocky in Stallone's movie franchise of the same name.

Answer: Audie Murphy

Murphy was the most decorated American soldier in World War II, earning the Medal of Honor along with all the other U.S. medals, as well as awards for heroism from Belgium and France. After his return to civilian life he also suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

In addition to his film career he also collaborated on several country songs and wrote his memoirs in "To Hell and Back", which was also made into a movie in which he starred.

Answer: Roberto Clemente

Clemente was the first Latin American-born MLB player inducted into the Hall of Fame. He played for 18 years for the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning four batting titles and compiling 3,000 hits. He was a 12-time All Star, winning 12 Golden Glove awards and two World Series championships with the Pirates in 1960 and 1971.