How Kirk Douglas Cheated Death on Mike Todd's Tragic Final Flight
By James H. Sterling
While the Douglas household was divided by conflict, *The Lucky Liz* departed Burbank into deteriorating spring weather. Aboard were Todd; Art Cohn, a prominent screenwriter and author writing Todd's biography, *The Nine Lives of Mike Todd*; pilot William Verner; and co-pilot Thomas Barclay. The flight plan called for a refueling stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before proceeding directly to New York.
As the Lockheed Lodestar crossed Arizona into western New Mexico, it encountered severe turbulence, freezing rain, and icing conditions along the continental divide. Civil Aeronautics Board investigators later pieced together the harrowing final moments of the flight. Ice accumulation weighted the airframe and disrupted airflow over the wings, overloading an aircraft that was already carrying heavy modifications and personal cargo.
| Event Phase | Time / Location | Historical Details |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Flight Invitation | March 21, 1958 (Afternoon) | Mike Todd offers empty cabin seats to Kirk Douglas and Elizabeth Taylor in Los Angeles. |
| Departure | 10:41 PM PST (Burbank, CA) | Lockheed Lodestar N300E departs Burbank Airport bound for Tulsa and New York. |
| In-Flight Distress | March 22, ~3:30 AM MST | Aircraft encounters heavy icing, gusting winds, and zero visibility over the Zuni Mountains. |
| Impact | Grants, New Mexico | Aircraft crashes into mountain ridge at full cruising speed; all 4 occupants die on impact. |
The wreckage was scattered across a wide radius in remote timber country southwest of Grants. Forest rangers and local rescue teams took hours to navigate deep mud and snowdrifts to reach the site. The impact was non-survivable. The Friars Club gala, scheduled for that evening at the Waldorf-Astoria, was transformed within hours into an emergency memorial.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
