Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy of Special Anti-Gangster Duty Frank De War was flying home from Bakersfield after investigating a lead in a kidnapping case. The veteran pilot flew low, under the clouds of a pending storm. About 20 minutes into the flight, visibility was zero and the pilot decided to turn around, but misjudged the terrain, scraping the underbelly of the airplane and igniting the fuel tanks. All eight passengers died in the resulting inferno. It took a week to locate the wreckage. Chief Deputy De War, a veteran of World War I, was honored by 2,000 mourners, including state and local dignitaries and American and Canadian veterans. The colorful mix of uniforms, green next to red, was led by plaid kilt clad pipers.