This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and Photo Friends
In the early morning hours of July 25, 1957, retired jeweler Saul F. Binstock boarded a Western Airlines Convair 240 twin-engine airliner in Las Vegas, locked himself in the lavatory at the rear of the plane and was sucked out in a mysterious explosion. The pilot and co-pilot successfully made an emergency landing at George Air Force Base in Victorville, California. No one else was injured. It was discovered later that the jeweler had talked a friend into securing dynamite for him and that Binstock purchased two insurance policies at the Burbank airport before flying to Las Vegas. His body was found the next day. Photograph caption dated July 25, 1957 reads "Reporters wait outside North Hollywood home of Saul F. Binstock, 62, at 5739 Rhodes St. to talk with his wife, Mrs. Eva Binstock. Retired jeweler apparently was sucked out of gaping hole in passenger plane, 10,000 feet over Mojave Desert following mysterious blast. Plane made emergency forced landing at George Air Force Base early today."
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