twinoaks

Plane crashes in front of
Twin Oak Motel in 1950!

Plane Crashes in front of Twin Oaks Motel.
Story by Robert Earl Mckinney (Passed away in March of 2004) You can email Sean McKinney
5/14/2002

As a young man, I worked at Ike Arnim's Motor Inn, a Humble service station on Hwy 90 in Sabinal Texas. In the early 1950's, I remember sitting in the Large display window that had deer heads, a small full size white dog , as well as candy and chips. I was listening to a ball game on the radio. I had just finished washing and greasing a butane tanker truck and Louis Sprott was in the middle drive with his gasoline truck refueling the underground tanks.. Suddenly there was a tremendous noise sounding like tin ripping off a barn. Across the highway wa the Twin Oaks Motel and bursting through the middle of the oak trees was an airplane spinning in the air with the wings ripping off. The plane landed upside down in the middle of Hwy 90 and skidded across the concrete toward the station. A body rolled out under neath the plane and was rolled over by the plane a number of times before flying free.

Jim Smart, who worked there, was standing o the curb of the inside driveway. Understandably, he froze as the plane skidded between the produding butane tank truck and the gasoline refueling truck. I took one look a the two fuel trucks and the sliding plane coming and me and immediately observed the rest looking over my shoulder at 50 yards away. The plane bumped against the curb on the inside drive and stopped a few feet away from Jim Smart. Jim ran inside and called the fire department and the Sheriff. I ran back and grabbed a fire extinguisher. Gasoline was running from the plane and it was smoking. I used the extinguisher hoping to keep it from igniting. I never saw Louis Sprott move so fast putting up the fuel hose and driving his tank truck away from there.

Some men came running from the cafe, grabbed a tire iron and began prying the plane cockpit door open to remove the passanger that was trapped inside. The other man was lying on his back, his face was unrecognizable on the concrete. I was sure he was dead. My legs wouldn't stop shaking. With all the fuel trucks in the area, the plane could have blown up half of Sabinal and I wouldn't be the one telling you this story.

Amazingly both Johnny Morrison, the Twin Oaks Motel Owner that was piloting the plane, and the other man were able to walk into the hospital in Uvalde where the ambulance took them. They both called their wives from the hospital to make sure the ladies were OK because both of them were standing in the motel drive when the plane hit the tree. That tree had a huge gap in the middle for years.

I don't remember all the names of the people but on the right is Jimmy Callicoat, Sheriff Siller Atkinson, the man with the tie is the one who freed the trapped man, the man in the hat with his back to you was Wells Sutherland, the man facing you with the billed cap was Jim Smart, 2 people over in the hat and dark clothes is Little Bud Henry.

To the far left is Oscar "Ottie" Olson talking to me. you can see the tip of my elbow. I know the other people but can't remember their names. Maybe someone can identify them and give them the exact date the crash occured. This happened about 50 years ago as I recall it.