Champagne Tony's Last Landing: Ran Out of Fuel Short of Runway

Champagne Tony's Last Landing: Ran Out of Fuel Short of Runway

A celebrated golfer landed not on a green but in a water hazard when his twin‑engine Beechcraft Bonanza ran out of fuel less than a mile from Lansing Municipal Airport on July 24, 1966 - four people died and there was no mechanical failure. How did a routine 300‑mile hop end with engines quitting short of the runway?

In this episode, we tell the facts of that afternoon and trace Tony Lema’s journey from East Oakland caddie to twelve‑time Tour winner, ending with the fatal flight that followed a championship weekend. What decisions and oversights led to the aircraft exhausting its fuel so close to its destination?

Person: Anthony David Lema Date: July 24, 1966 Location: Lansing Municipal Airport vicinity, Illinois Event: Aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed in a water hazard Passengers: Four people on board, all killed

- The plane crossed the Illinois state line with its tanks nearly dry and was less than a mile from Lansing Municipal Airport when the engines quit. - The crash occurred in a water hazard short of the seventh green, less than half a mile from where the pilot intended to land. - Tony Lema was born February 25, 1934, in East Oakland and lost his father in 1937 at age three. - By summer 1966 Lema was thirty‑two years old with twelve official PGA Tour victories and had just flown from Akron, Ohio after the PGA Championship. - The Beechcraft Bonanza was owned by Wylie Mullen and Dr. George Bard; Doris Mullen was pilot in command and Dr. Bard occupied the right seat as copilot.

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