Most people have traveled by an airplane at some point in their lives, but many will not get on an airplane either due to aerophobia or for fear of the plane crashing. Actually, most of us would not want to travel “on” an airplane: we fly “in” an airplane. On September 30, 1991, however, a young man in Paducah, Kentucky, took the former route. After being denied a ride “in” a small plane, the man literally jumped “on” the plane’s wing as it took off. A short time later, he plummeted to his death.

For nearly eight years, the identity of the man who literally flew on the airplane, remained unknown.

The Paducah John Doe

At 6:00 p.m. on September 30, 1991, a young man approached Wes Weaver, a maintenance worker at Barkley Regional Airport. The man, rumpled and agitated, said he needed to get to California and begged Wes for a plane ride. Wes replied he was not a pilot and could not help him. The man, growing more irritated, said he had no money but offered his leather jacket for a ride. Wes again explained he could not be of assistance.

Wes did not smell alcohol on the man’s breath, nor did the man appear to be under the influence of drugs. Nevertheless, something clearly was not right with him.

The unidentified man left the airport, soon to become the talk of Paducah.

The Leather Jacket Offered for a Plane Ride

While he was driving along a road near the airfield half an hour later, Wes again saw the man. As odd as the first encounter had been, it paled in comparison to what Wes then witnessed. The man hopped a fence and ran toward the runway. Two other witnesses, Jerry and Linda Leab, saw him race cross the runway until he reached a plane preparing for takeoff.

Northwest Airlines Commuter Flight 2940, flying to Memphis, Tennessee, took off at 6:49 p.m. with a passenger literally on the plane.

Barkley Regional Airport Runway

Minutes later, with the plane in the air, Jerry and Linda saw a small speck drop from the plane’s wing. Airport security officer Ron Jones found the man lying lifeless next to a fence at approximately 10:00 p.m.

The man carried no identification. An I.D. tag inscribed “Lt. L.F. Price, U.S.A.F” was sewn into the collar of the leather jacket he had tried to barter for a flight. Military records, however, contained no such name. A pair of swimming goggles was also found in the jacket.  

Blood tests confirmed no traces of drugs or alcohol in the man’s system. He was in excellent physical shape, was tanned with no tan lines and his pubic hair was shaved in a swimmer’s style. Investigators thought he may have been part of the Chippendale’s group who had recently been in the area, but that proved a dead end.

Authorities and airport personnel were amazed at the physical feats accomplished by the individual. In less than two minutes, he climbed over a seven-and-a-half foot fence, traversed eight-hundred feet of terrain, including a ditch system, ran around the plane’s tail section, and climbed onto the plane.

On the runway, the plane reached speeds of over one-hundred-twenty-five miles-per-hour which, upon takeoff, increased to over one-hundred-ninety miles-per-hour. The man was able to hold onto its wing until it reached over three-hundred feet in the air.

An Amazing Accomplishment by the Unknown Man

After learning of the Paducah plane rider, Reverend Gerald and Dee Duecker of Cincinnati, Ohio, believed the John Doe was their missing son.

Twenty-eight-year-old Brian Duecker had disappeared from Cincinnati on September 26, 1991, four days before the man leaped onto the airplane in Paducah, three-hundred-fifteen miles away. Brian had left his ID and a note expressing his desire to travel west.

When Gerald and Dee contacted investigators, they were told the Paducah John Doe did not match their son’s description. Undeterred, they contacted a Paducah reporter who provided a photograph of Brian to investigators.

On June 8, 1999, nearly eight years after the man plunged to his death aboard the Paducah plane, fingerprints confirmed he was Brian Duecker.

Brian Duecker

Brian was a marathon runner who was in excellent shape, which explained how he was able to accomplish the physical feats. His mental condition, unfortunately, was a different story.

He suffered from paranoid schizophrenia which is believed to have caused his irrational behavior at the airport.

A Diagnosed Schizophrenic

Brian had had a normal and happy childhood, and he had been a typical teenager and young adult before being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic at age twenty-two.

His condition gradually worsened over the following six years, culminating in his running away from home in 1991.

Brian Duecker, as “John Doe,” was laid to rest at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Paducah, Kentucky. The community had the upper head stone erected for him.

After he was identified, Brian’s family added the lower marker to his grave, listing his name, date of birth, and the date his remains were identified.

Two Tombstones

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5858369

SOURCES:

• Cincinnati Enquirer
• Paducah Sun
• Unsolved Mysteries