Late Night Flight

Uncategorized 6 Minutes

Flying has captured the human imagination for centuries. Whenever there is an issue regarding a flight of any kind, it grabs our attention. A plane crash, mechanical issues, airport power outages, storms, even fights among passengers make headlines. Yet, what if someone stole a small aircraft, took off without control tower clearance, then landed it on a busy Manhattan street, got out and went into a bar to have a drink?

In today’s era of fear, the pilot would be arrested as a terrorist. Imagine an aviator pulling this stunt in 1956, during the height of the Cold War and drunk. This is the story of one such aviator. When the Second World War began, pilots and mechanics became an essential part of both the Axis and Allied war efforts. Wars provided men and women with opportunities to learn all about flying.

https://i.imgur.com/dNyp0if.png
Thomas Fitzpatrick

Thomas Fitzpatrick was one such boy. He grew up in Washington Heights and was born on April 24, 1930. Tommy lied about his age and enlisted into the Marine Corps and fought in the Pacific during the Second World War. When the war ended he was honorably discharged and returned home.

https://i.imgur.com/IeeHbzH.png
Allegedly Thomas Fitzpatrick on left

Then, in 1949, he joined the US Army and fought in the Korean War. Corporal Fitzpatrick received the Silver Star and Purple Heart after he was “seriously wounded” and attempted to rescue fellow soldiers “despite severe pain and loss of blood.” Again he was honorably discharged and returned home from war. Tommy Fitz, as he was called, became a steamfitter in his civilian life. The work required long hours working in the hot and cramped underbelly of New York buildings.

On the side he was a part-time airplane mechanic at the Tetterboro School of Aeronautics in New Jersey. He was also learning how to fly and logging in hours for his pilot’s license. By the age of 26, Tommy Fitz was a veteran of two wars, was a union steamfitter, and was involved in the fast-growing aviation industry.

https://i.imgur.com/Kud2r5n.png
Teterboro Airport

Unwinding with Booze

In typical fashion, Tommy and his fellow blue collar workers in the construction trades ended their days by visiting a local tavern. The handwork and long hours involved with being steamfitter required some time to unwind before heading home to engage in domestic duties. Joe’s Bar on 191st Street was a frequent hangout for Tommy Fitz and his coworkers.

https://i.imgur.com/APVOGZl.png
Joe’s Bar

One night a debate raged among the bar’s patrons. Was it possible to fly from New Jersey to Washington Heights in 15 minutes? Full of the drink, Tommy accepted the challenge and left the bar. He headed across the Hudson River to Teeterboro Airport.

On Saturday night, September 29, 1956, Thomas Fitzpatrick arrived at Teeterboro, selected a small red and white Cessna 140, and began his flight. He flew the plane over Washington Heights and landed it near Joe’s Bar on St. Nicholas Avenue near 191st street. The drunk pilot was able to maneuver the plane’s 32 foot wing span and land it safely on the roadway lined on either side by buildings. He then taxied the plane up to Joe’s Bar, shut off the engine, and went inside for a celebratory beer just before the 3 am last call.

https://i.imgur.com/VYcw7Fr.png
Restored 1946 Cessna 140

A plane landing on a Manhattan street at 3 am garnered the attention of the local police. The police arrived at Joe’s Bar where Fitz told them that he had suffered “unexpected engine trouble” and was forced to land. He admitted to borrowing the plane because, while drinking, he suddenly had “an urge to fly.” After the police aviation department examined the plane, they determined that there was no engine trouble and Tommy Fitz was simply flying drunk. He was arrested and the plane was dismantled and moved to a nearby police station.

https://i.imgur.com/0Nj7uca.png

A judge set Tommy’s bail at $5,000 and charged him with grand larceny, which was a felony, as well as violating the city’s municipal code that forbid landing airplanes on any streets in New York City. The judge stated that “many terrible things could have happened” and he did not want Tommy Fitz to perform such a stunt again. Eventually, the grand larceny charge was dropped when the owner of the plane refused to sign a complaint.

Some in the police department were in awe of Tommy’s drunken accomplishment. One sergeant in the Police Aviation Bureau proclaimed that flying a plane drunk and managing to land it safely between New York buildings was a “100,000 to one shot” and a “feat of aeronautics.” Eventually, Tommy was found guilty and fined $100. His pilot’s license was suspended for six months. After his late-night flight, Tommy Fitz claimed he had no desire to fly again and never renewed his license.

Deja Vu

Thomas Fitzpatrick got married in June 1958. He and his bride, Helen, settled in New Jersey while Tommy continued to work as a steamfitter. After visiting his old stomping grounds on October 4, 1958, Tommy Fitz went into a bar for a drink. As the drinks flowed the stories grew.

When one bar patron told another that Tommy Fitz had landed an airplane on St. Nicholas Avenue and 181st Street they simply did not believe it. Tommy Fitz got up from his barstool, left the bar, drove to Teterboro Airport, and selected a plane. At 12:20 am, the control tower at Teterboro Airport watched Fitz take off in a Cessna 120 without proper clearance, radio contact, or navigation lights.

https://i.imgur.com/d5Gg3Hz.png
Restored Cessna 120

Just after 12:35 am, a bus driver at Amsterdam Avenue and 191st Street saw a plane in the rear mirrors coming in for a landing. According to the bus driver, the plane landed next to the bus, bouncing 20 feet up upon contact with the ground and then bounced again and “taxied down to 187th Street.” The bus driver, Harvey Roffe, fled from his bus and ran down to 187th street to see the plane. By the time that he arrived, the pilot was gone. Another witness to the plane’s landing told police that he saw a man who was “tall, blond, and husky wearing a gray suit” fleeing from the plane.

https://i.imgur.com/VvqeWYa.png
1958 New York City Transit Bus

Once again the borrowed plane was in fine working order. It even had 3/4 full tank of fuel! As the police began to draw parallels to the plane landing event from two years earlier, Tommy Fitzpatrick became a person of interest. Upon his first round of questioning, he denied everything.

When a witness identified Fitzpatrick as the man who fled the plane and the police told him that his finger prints were all over the plane, he admitted to borrowing the plane and landing it on Amsterdam Avenue.

Thomas Fitzpatrick was again charged with grand larceny and violating the city’s codes of landing a plane on a New York City street. He was also charged with “dangerous and reckless operation of an aircraft.” Fitzpatrick was held on a $10,000 bond. On January 26, 1959, Thomas Fitzpatrick pled guilty for bringing stolen property into the state of New York.

The judge proclaimed that Fitzpatrick was most certainly drunk and flew the plane when “dared by a drinking companion.” Then the judge proclaimed that despite Thomas Fitzpatrick’s exemplary civil and military record and the completion of two “miraculous” landings, he was sentenced to six months in jail.

Upon his release from prison, Tommy Fitz returned to working as a union steamfitter. He and his wife, Helen, raised their three sons in Washington Township in Bergen County, New Jersey.

Tommy Fitz was an active member of his community belonging to a VFW Post, the Men’s Club at his church, along with other civic organizations. After a battle with cancer, Thomas Fitzpatrick died on September 14, 2009, just past the 53rd anniversary of his first plane landing on a New York City street.

A drink consisting of Kahlua, vodka, Chambord, blackberries, egg white, and simple syrup was named in Tommy Fitz’s honor and known as the “Late Night Flight.”


Assembled by Danny Beason of New Leaf, in the Manhattan neighborhood where Fitzpatrick landed his plane twice.

Ingredients:

1/2 Ounce Kahlua, 1 1/2 Ounce Vodka, 1/2 Ounce Chambord, 5 Blackberries, 1 Egg White, Dash Simple Syrup

Instructions:

The idea here is to create a layered representation of NYC’s nighttime sky. Pour Kahlua into the base of a cocktail glass. In a separate mixing glass, muddle the blackberries, add Chambord and one ounce of vodka, and shake with ice. Strain carefully into a layer over the Kahlua.

In another mixing glass, shake egg white, syrup, and remaining half ounce of vodka — without ice — to create an emulsion. Layer this fluffy white foam on top – like the clouds through which Mr. Fitzpatrick piloted.

Sip and enjoy, preferably far from any enticing airfields.

https://i.imgur.com/w27IPuz.png

Published by NebraskaFilly

Army veteran (1976-1979), retired with entirely too much time on my hands

Published

281 thoughts on “Late Night Flight”

  3. okay…first glad they were nabbed at the border–hope they were incarcerated or deported. but how the hell dumb do these jackasses have to be to use their real names? maybe i should write a Border Crossings for Dummies book and sell it to homeland to pass out
    FTA
    Border Patrol agents recorded nabbing 15 illegal immigrants in May whose names popped a flag in Homeland Security’s terrorism screening database, according to data released by Homeland Security this week that showed the free-for-all at the southern border continues unabated.

    All told, 50 people on the terrorism watchlist have been apprehended by agents as they sneaked in through the southern border this fiscal year. As of April, it was just 35.

    https://amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jun/16/15-people-terror-watch-list-were-captured-sneaking/

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Liked by 2 people

    1. I was given pitocin because the cord was around HB’s neck – every time I had a contraction, it compressed the cord and cut off her oxygen. Her body then secreted adrenalin, which caused my body to stop the contractions. This was why I had to go the hospital instead of having her at home. The RN said we could stay there and try but there was a good chance that HB wouldn’t make it. So we chose to go to the hospital at Andrews AFB, where they had a midwifery program. The entire hospital was talking about this crazy couple who tried to have their baby at home! Oh, yeah, we gave them fits!!! They wanted to shave me – I refused; they wanted to use an internal monitor – I refused. They were NOT happy with me, I’ll tell you that!!!!

      Her eyes popped open as soon as her head was delivered. They immediately cut the cord so it wouldn’t strangle her. Chris told me the doctor brought out what looked like a tree limb lopper and I could hear the snap when they cut thru it before the rest of her body was delivered.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. happened with my son as well…and he was coming out neck first…so my little asian (female) doctor stuck her hand up there and pushed him into the right position…THAT was an experience…

        Liked by 1 person

  14. From The Bee:

    “NASHVILLE, TN—The Daily Wire’s new movie Terror On The Prairie received backlash from movie critics for a scene where Ben Shapiro unexpectedly appears as a traveling salesman hawking life insurance policies.

    “Howdy there, partners!” says a top-hat-wearing Ben Shapiro as rolls up in a fancy wagon with the words “Policy Genius” painted on the side. “You fellas ever hear about Policy Genius? Whether you’re about to have a duel or worried about attacks from the Injuns, they got your hide covered!”

    Shapiro then dusts off his hat, sets down his six-shooter, and holds up a QR code for all the cowboys to scan. “Yes sir, you fine gentlemen just mosey on over to this here website and you’ll be grinnin’ like a possum eatin’ sweet taters. No unnecessary medical exams, no Doc Holliday checkin’ under the belt buckle. Who’s up first? Don’t be a yellow belly now!”

    After the cowboys get their policies squared away, Terror On The Prairie continues on with Gina Carano being absolutely stunning and incredible. “Ms. Carano is so unbelievably talented at everything she does, it’s silly,” said movie critic Bob Tolliver. “She carried the movie effortlessly. Almost made up for when Shapiro barged back into the saloon to tell the bartender about finding help on ZipRecruiter.”

    At publishing time, the Daily Wire had announced their next film project entitled Run, Fight, Hide Your Identity With ExpressVPN.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a move to help alleviate pain at the pump, the Biden Administration has announced a $1 billion initiative to provide grief and trauma counselors to stand by at all gas pumps across the nation.

      The plan will fund licensed therapists and psychiatrists to stand at the ready at gas pumps from New York to California to comfort people mourning the loss of hundreds of dollars every time they fill up their tanks.

      “There, there. It’s gonna be OK,” said one grief counselor as a woman filled up her VW at a gas pump in California. “Times like these can be difficult to cope with, but we can survive Putin’s Price Hike if we look deep within ourselves for strength and guidance. Now, let’s try some breathing exercises.”

      Another woman in Ohio burst into tears after paying over $3 for gas for the first time in her life.

      “Shhh, shhh, it’s OK, honey,” said one therapist, stroking her hair. “You’re going through the stages of grief. Soon, you’ll learn to live with $10 gas. You literally won’t even remember when gas was as cheap as it was during the Trump administration.”

      “I know, I know,” the woman replied. “It’s just so hard to accept. I miss… I miss Trump.”

      Biden has actually gotten pretty hands-on during this initiative, reporting that he plans to comfort young women at gas pumps himself from time to time “to help chip in.” “It’s the least I can do,” he said before stationing himself at a gas pump and waiting for a cute young girl to pull up.”

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Political commentator Liz Wheeler joined The Babylon Bee to talk about reading all the founding documents of critical and queer theory, Mark Zuckerberg being a robot who may have swung the 2020 election, Ron DeSantis’ bid for 2024, and the hottest spots to buy chest binders and packing underwear.

      You can check out Liz Wheeler on her podcast The Liz Wheeler Show or read her book Tipping Points: How to Topple the Left’s House of Cards

      Liked by 1 person

    4. TURKEY—Anthropologists have uncovered a cache of sealed jars near the city of Terme which could shed light on the sudden collapse of the mysterious all-female Amazon tribe. The warrior women, though proficient in archery and horseback, likely starved to death because they couldn’t get any jars open, say experts.

      “There were no refrigerators in the ancient world,” explained Dr. Grastut Miluakee, an anthropology professor at Oxford University. “Most food, if it could not be cured or pickled, had to be eaten promptly. Bread, monkey brains, what have you—would spoil in a matter of days if not hours.”

      He continued, “It is likely that they lost a regular source of food and were forced to eat their preserves, which they could not access. The mighty Amazon warriors simply starved to death because they were too stubborn to ask the neighboring Trojans for aid.”

      The conclusion reached by a consensus of anthropologists has been criticized for the implication there are distinct biological differences between men and women. It has also been the opinion of some scholars that the tomboyish Amazon women would have at least been able to smash jars open by throwing them against rocks.

      Oxford anthropologists called in a sociologist to explain the apparent difficulty.

      “My wife can’t stand it when I break or throw away some jar without asking. She’s always like—’Hey! I could’ve used that for my pickled rhubarb or whatever!’ and then I never hear the end of it,” said Dr. Edward Zieglefroyd. “The Amazons were likely the same.”

      “Because they’re women.”

      At publishing time, the research has influenced new storylines for the popular Wonder Woman comic book. In the latest issue, she saves the tribe by calling on Kryptonians to help open all their food jars.

      Liked by 1 person

              9. I am still doing my daily smoothie….well, most days, anyway…..it’s just so hard when you can’t smell hardly anything and everything tastes like crap….and I KNOW my body and I KNOW this is my sinuses…..had my usual deluge this morning but that comes and goes.

                Liked by 1 person

  22. EXCERPT: “A company that supplies tens of thousands of research animals — including dogs — to universities, drugmakers and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will close its Envigo beagle breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia, Science reported.

    In a June 13 statement, Robert Leasure, Jr., president and CEO of Inotive, said his company will close its “purpose-bred canine facility” due to the “growing cost of bringing the complex of several large buildings into compliance with the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).”

    Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) documented more than 70 AWA violations, Science reported last year. In April, the State of Virginia enacted a law that would prevent the company from selling any more beagles if it committed a single additional serious violation after July 1, 2023. A month later, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Envigo — which Inotive purchased in November 2021 — for violating the AWA and seized 446 animals determined to be “in acute distress.”

    Eric Kleiman, a researcher with the Animal Welfare Institute, told Science closing the facility is not enough. “What of the over 40,000 animals at [Inotive’s] other sites?” Kleiman asked. “Given its shocking animal welfare record, we believe Inotiv’s license should be permanently revoked.”

    John Sagartz, Inotiv’s chief strategy officer, said in a court hearing this week the company is taking the USDA’s concerns “very seriously” and is trying to resolve the issues. “Progress has been swift and dramatic,” Sagartz told the court.”

    More: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/beagles-nih-research-facility-animal-welfare-violations/

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Big Brother NewsWatch headlines:

    Facebook Is Receiving Sensitive Medical Information From Hospital Websites

    St. Louis Teachers Sue Over School District Vaccine Mandate

    California Officials Push to Rein in Medical Disinformation — Bill Under Debate May Be Tough to Enforce; Some Say It Restricts Innovation

    DeSantis Administration Targets Bucs Over Employee Vaccine Requirement

    COVID: Hong Kong to Allow Bosses to Fire Unvaxxed Staff, Quarantine Orders Will Be Proof of Sick Leave

    Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Google and Others Agree to New EU Rules to Fight Disinformation

    Beware the FCC’s New Big Tech Enrichment Plan

    It’s Time to Burn Medical Consent Forms

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/bb-facebook-receiving-sensitive-medical-information-hospital-websites/

    Liked by 1 person

  24. COVID NewsWatch Headlines:

    Moderna to Study Its COVID Vaccine in Babies as Young as 3 Months

    Florida Is the Only State to Skip Pre-Ordering COVID Vaccines for Kids

    Explainer: What to Know About COVID Vaccines for Young Children

    Biden Administration Sued Over Records on Withholding COVID Treatment From Florida

    Dr. Anthony Fauci Tests Positive for COVID

    ‘Part of a New Normal’: COVID Reinfections Are Here to Stay

    Rapid COVID Tests Give Many False Negatives, but That Might Mean You’re Not Contagious

    Flu Shots Lag in States With Low COVID Vaccine Uptake

    Camp Counselors Receive Mental Health Training in NH

    https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/covid-nw-moderna-study-covid-vaccine-babies/

    Liked by 1 person

  25. EXCERPT: “At 29, Hayley Lopez had a promising career she had worked 12 years to achieve, as an air traffic controller at one of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) busiest facilities in the U.S. On Oct. 8, 2021, that career came crashing to a halt 15 minutes after Lopez got her first, and only, dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In an exclusive interview with The Defender, Lopez, now 30, shared her story, including the injuries she sustained and the challenges she experienced trying to get a diagnosis and treatment.

    “About 15 minutes after the shot, I noticed arm and chest pain,” Lopez said. “Then, I noticed dizziness, shortness of breath, memory issues and stuttering within three days — and that’s when I knew something was really wrong.” Lopez sought help at an urgent care facility, and while there, she said, drifted in and out of consciousness.

    “My other symptoms include twitching, nerve pain, fatigue, high blood pressure, high heart rate, palpitations, lightheadedness, a feeling of vertigo and migraines,” Lopez said. “I still suffer from all symptoms now, eight months later.”

    Lopez didn’t want the vaccine, but under the Biden administration’s executive order, federal workers were required to get the vaccine or be fired. “I want people to know that I was just a normal, healthy 29-year-old trying to navigate life,” Lopez said. “I worked very hard to get to where I am in my career and at the time, I felt as though my world would end if I lost my job. I got the shot to keep my job and now it may end my career.”

    For Lopez, the symptoms she experienced almost immediately after receiving the Pfizer shot were just part of her troubles. She also had difficulty locating a doctor who could diagnose her condition and who wouldn’t dismiss her concerns that the symptoms were vaccine-related. “I could honestly go on and on about the healthcare system and how terrible you’re treated when you are vaccine-injured,” Lopez said. “I went to a total of 32 appointments with 17 different doctors in seven months.”

    The first two doctors she saw in urgent care told her it was a coincidence that the symptoms developed immediately after the vaccine. “They seemed more concerned with assuring me it wasn’t from the vaccine than treating me,” she said. Some of the “diagnoses” she received were dismissive — just “stress-related,” doctors told her — while others bordered on sexist. “My tests kept coming back normal so my doctor assumed it was ‘just anxiety,’” Lopez said. “I was even told by specialists that it was because of ‘my cycle’ and that ‘a lot of women have the same complaints.’”

    According to Lopez, she received a series of misdiagnoses, including costochondritis, multisystem inflammatory syndrome, long COVID, anxiety and depression. “I left every doctor’s appointment with tears in my eyes because I knew they were wrong,” Lopez said. “I knew something was wrong with me and I knew it wasn’t just in my head.”

    Lopez got a diagnosis after she happened to read about postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition that affects blood flow and can result in symptoms such as lightheadedness, fainting and increased heartbeat, symptoms which appear when standing up from a reclined position.

    “The first time I read about POTS, I cried because it was like reading about myself,” Lopez said. “I discovered POTS on my own. I did not get any information or guidance from a doctor.” When she finally went to a doctor who specializes in POTS, “He knew right away that I had POTS and understood my struggles with previous doctors, because all his POTS patients go through the same things,” Lopez said.”

    More: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/hayley-lopez-pfizer-covid-vaccine-injury-air-traffic-controller/

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Video at link:

    Entire Article: “Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has raised concerns about the bipartisan gun control bill being proposed in the Senate. While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Texas lawmaker said they had to iron out a few issues before an agreement can be reached.

    Cornyn then pointed out two key issues: whether the federal government should be offering states financial incentives to implement red flag laws and closing the so-called “boyfriend loophole.” In the meantime, other GOP senators told One America News the “devil is in the details” and they remain cautious when it comes to supporting any potential bipartisan agreement on a so-called bipartisan gun safety measure.

    One America’s John Hines has more from Capitol Hill.”

    https://www.oann.com/bipartisan-negotiation-on-gun-control-bill-stalled/

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Well, the Orioles REALLY don’t like the strawberry preserves! I removed most of it but mixed some in with the grape jelly – they haven’t touched it, whereas the grape jelly is almost gone. So much for that experiment!

    Liked by 1 person

  30. copied from q tree…flooding and storms have closed the abbott plant again…baby formula shortage continues..

    Sadie SlaysOffline
    Coyote
    June 16, 2022 17:21

    Remember that derecho threat from the other day? The baby formula plant that shut down and had reopened is now closed again indefinitely due to flooding from the derecho. What a coincidence. The baby formula shortage continues.  🙄  🙄  🙄 

    Severe thunderstorms and heavy rains came through southwestern Michigan on Monday evening, resulting in high winds, hail, power outages and flood damage throughout the area. These torrential storms produced significant rainfall in a short period of time – overwhelming the city’s stormwater system in Sturgis, Mich., and resulting in flooding in parts of the city, including areas of our plant.

    As a result, Abbott has stopped production of its EleCare specialty formula that was underway to assess damage caused by the storm and clean and re-sanitize the plant. We have informed FDA and will conduct comprehensive testing in conjunction with the independent third party to ensure the plant is safe to resume production. This will likely delay production and distribution of new product for a few weeks.

    https://www.accuweather.com/en/business/derecho-floods-baby-formula-factory-halting-production/1203229

    https://www.abbott.com/corpnews

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.