By the late 1930s Mamer was employed by Northwest Airlines , working as a pilot on that carrier 's Seattle-Minneapolis route . On January 10 , 1938 , Mamer was at the controls of Northwest Airlines Flight 2 , a Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra when the plane crashed . Parts of the tail section were torn from the aircraft as it flew over the Bridger Range northeast of Bozeman , Montana and the plane went into a dive . Mamer , copilot Fred West and eight passengers died instantly . Later , an investigation revealed that the tail structure had failed on the new design from what is known as " natural resonance , or period of vibration " .
Northwest Airlines Flight 2
Northwest Airlines Flight 2
Nick Mamer