The Fairway Matter

Originally Aired: January 5, 1954 Johnny Dollar #196, "The Fairway Matter," finds insurance investigator Johnny Dollar called to the scene of a devastating airline disaster. Sam Harris from Columbia Risk Insurance pulls Johnny into the case when a Fairway Airlines plane explodes shortly after takeoff, killing thirteen passengers and crew plus a family of four on the ground when the wreckage crashes into houses near Springfield Hartford Airport. What appears to be a tragic accident quickly becomes a murder investigation when authorities confirm a nitroglycerin bomb was planted in the aircraft's tail section, deliberately destroying the control cables. Working alongside Captain Jim Lenhart of the state police and airline representative Carl Reed, Johnny begins the grim task of determining which of the victims was the intended target. The investigation turns to Wilbur Wheeler, a member of the ground crew who serviced the plane before departure. Wheeler had been obsessed with stewardess Shirley Goodhue, who died in the crash, and his behavior becomes increasingly suspicious when questioned about her recent engagement to co-pilot Bill Strand, who also perished in the explosion. As Wheeler's emotional state deteriorates under interrogation, the question becomes whether this was a crime of passion or something more sinister. Become a supporter of this podcast