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In 1966, two Cotton Belt trains were in double track territory about thirty-five miles south of East St. Louis. The tracks, signalled for both directions, had a northbound train operating on the south-bound track heading into a crossover to the north-bound track, when a south-bound train on the south-bound track ran the yellow signal and the red stop signal, colliding with the opposing train at the crossover.
The engines and cars were spread all over the right-of-way and piled up at the crossover. The cars caught on fire; the head brakeman was killed in the lead unit of the south-bound train; the engineer crawled out of the lead diesel.
This major disaster had all Cotton Belt and Missouri Pacific trains tied up north and south of the derailment. President McKenzie chartered a twin engine Beach Craft at Tyler, picked up Superintendent W. J. Lacy, Roadmaster Gordon Summitt, Chief Engineer R. H. Patterson, Signal Engineer B. J. Alford and headed for the scene near Perryville, Missouri. They flew over the burning wreckage, then headed to the small airport at Perryville.
The pilot made his landing approach at an altitude of 1500 feet. The plane fell about 1000 feet before the pilot was able to gain control. When power was applied to the engines, it was headed for the Mississippi River. Finally, at about 500 feet, the tiny airport with many trees around it, could be seen. The pilot, announcing that he could not reach the runway, said he would try to land in a clearing near by. The plane somehow managed to land safely but very roughly.
An inspection of the plane revealed that "a nut" was to blame. A bolt, held in place by a wire, had backed off the elevator controls causing the problem. The cause of the derailment was discovered too, though not quite as easily. Rapid cleanup and restoring of tracks resulted in the opening of one of the lines the very next day. An inspection of the lead unit's cab of the south-bound diesel, which was buried in the mud, led to the culprit of the accident, an almost empty quart of Vodka.
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