WAYNE GORDON 1968 - 1978 AIRCRAFT MECHANIC DEN STL Wayne Gordon was struck by lightning while working on a 580. He was on medication after that and about a month later was killed in a auto accident. That was about 1979. -Chuck Tisckos (2/24/99) As I recall Wayne (snaggletooth) was in a rollover somewhere west of St Charles, and thats what killed him. He was a very,very funny guy. -Jim Taylor 92/24/99) I was at the gate in STL the night Wayne got hit by lightning. The flight I was on was delayed by weather then a mechanical. It was a monster storm - just raining & lightning like crazy. He should never have been out there. As I recall he was standing in water over his ankles with a wrench in his hand working on the 580 when it was hit & he was the "ground". I don't see how it didn't kill him instantly. I took the incident to DEN as an ALEA safety issue & got Jim Shores and his bunch to put something out that agents and mechanics weren't to work under those conditions. It was an ongoing battle tho to get them to enforce it. -Jake Lamkins (2/25/99) I contacted the funeral home in Troy MO that handled Gordo's remains. Here goes. Born 8/6/1941 - died 9/27/1978. Eakley OK internment. I remember we shipped his remains NR/POS to OKC on FL. -Chuck Tisckos (3-30-99) I worked with Wayne "Snag" Gordon in DEN for a short while. I always liked line stations , so I only stayed in DEN long enough to bid out. I'm pretty sure Wayne was at the STL line station when he had his auto accident, but I don't recall what year it was. I hope this bit of info helps. -David Goad (4/29/99) Those folks dying on AA after escaping the WTC horror remind me of Wayne Gordon, a STLFL mechanic. Wayne was struck by lightning one night while working on a 580 in a thunderstorm. I was there and saw it from the waiting room window. It was FL577 which would take me to FYV. It was a miracle Wayne wasn't killed. After quite awhile off work recuperating, he was killed in a car crash enroute to work on Sep. 27, 1978. Wayne was 37 years old. -Jake Lamkins (11-14-01) Jake, Wayne Gordon And I hired in about the same time in Denver early 1968, he spent 10 years or so in Denver then moved on to STL. He was effectionatly known as "Snaggletooth" by his friends, a very funny guy with a great sense of humor. I had heard that his untimely death was under strange circumstances (the auto accident) and could possibly have been related to the lightning strike. -Jim Taylor (11-15-01) 1941 - 1978 In Memoriam Murrell Wayne Gordon, an aircraft technician in St. Louis, was killed in an automobile accident on Sept. 25. A fine mechanic and friend, Wayne spent ten years with Frontier. Frontier News, Sep/Oct 1978 -There's a conflict of 2 days with the gravestone death date and what the FL News reported. - -Jake Lamkins (11/30/05) M W GORDON Aircraft mechanic seniority date of 3/25/68 per the Nov 1976 FL/IAM Seniority List. He's not shown in the Mar 1973 or Mar 1978 FL News articles for 5 and 10 year pins so he may have started for the company earlier. -Jake Lamkins (9/21/17) FLacebook - FL Club FLight West: Wayne Gordon DEN STL aircraft mechanic Wayne Gordon's memorial webpage has been updated at http://FAL-1.tripod.com/Wayne_Gordon.html A few items added but still need an obituary and photo of Wayne. -Jake Lamkins (9/21/17) '68 is right for Wayne Gordon's hire date. I worked with Wayne in Denver and again in STL. I was on days off when the accident happened and also when he was injured by lightning. He was replacing an outflow valve on a 580 and said he saw a blue line coming down the belly but couldn't let go of the speed handle quick enough to avoid it. He had several health problems after the lightning strike and the doctors had him on meds plus valium. Wayne lived in the country near Moscow Mills and had a horse boarded at a stable a few miles from his home. He was coming home from the stable when he crashed and according to an eye witness he missed a turn and went straight off the road. He was driving an early model Mustang ragtop and lit upside down. The county had just bought a "jaws of life" and Wayne's car was the first one they used it on. -Bob Baxter (9/21/17)