Courtesy photo Capt. John A. Rapsis, the Nashua resident who was killed in the 1968 crash of Northeast Flight 946, is shown as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.

Granite Staters of a certain age may recall the tragic news broadcast over the air and in print some 50 years ago this month: Northeast Airlines Flight 946, a Fairchild-Hiller turboprop with 42 people on board, had crashed into ledges near the top of South Peak on Moose Mountain as it approached Lebanon Municipal Airport.

Nine passengers and one crew member – the 21-year-old flight attendant – survived. The pilot, Capt. John Rapsis, a longtime Nashua resident, and his co-pilot, 29-year-old John C. O’Neill of Pennsylvania, and 30 passengers perished.

A half-century later, the crash of Flight 946 remains New Hampshire’s deadliest aviation accident. While it’s certainly not a distinction to celebrate, the crash occupies an important place in state history, which has prompted the folks up at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire to put together a two-part observance to explore some of the lesser-known facts or personal stories that the tragedy spawned.

See accompanying information box for details on the upcoming program and hike to the crash scene.

Courtesy photo A World War II photo of Capt. John A. Rapsis, the Nashua resident who was killed in the 1968 crash of Northeast Flight 946

Jeff Rapsis remembers his father, the airline captain who married and started a family later than most of his contemporaries in the World War II era.

But the memories Jeff Rapsis has of his dad are crammed into just a few years: John Rapsis was 52 when he was killed in the crash. His son Jeff was 4.

“I don’t really have any memories of the event itself,” Rapsis told me the other day. Years later, perhaps as a teenager or young adult, he remembers talking with his mother about the crash, but more importantly, about the man they lost way too soon.

How the Aviation Museum’s upcoming program to mark the 50th anniversary of the crash came about is a study in coincidence and a reminder to answer the door when opportunity knocks.

An ad salesman at The Telegraph and other newspapers for 20 or so years, Jeff Rapsis went on to become editor, then publisher, and now co-owner of The Hippo, the Manchester-based weekly that covers Southern New Hampshire.

Courtesy photo Capt. John A. Rapsis, the Nashua resident who was killed in the 1968 crash of Northeast Flight 946, is shown as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.

He also moonlights as a silent-film musician who hosts shows throughout the region. It was about two years ago, Rapsis remembers, that he scheduled one of those shows at the Aviation Museum.

His hosts, familiar with the crash that took his father’s life, asked Rapsis if he’d consider helping the museum staff put together an exhibit of artifacts and his father’s memorabilia for a 50th anniversary observance.

“I said, ‘sure, my family and I would be happy to contribute what we have,'” Rapsis said. Somewhere along the line, he mentioned hiking to the crash scene; he and two museum staffers soon set out on foot.

Intrigued, the staff added the hike to the plans for the 50th anniversary exhibit. That was about a year ago, Rapsis said.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. The Aviation Museum was looking for an executive director; the vacancy caught Rapsis’s eye. “I applied, got the job,” he said, calling the job “a mix of things I love.”

Courtesy photo The wreckage of the tail section of the Fairchild-Hiller turboprop that crashed 50 years ago this month is shown in this photo taken during the investigation. Among those killed was the pilot, Nashua resident Capt. John Rapsis.

As for last year’s hike, Rapsis described what he saw when he and his companions arrived at the site: “Nothing.”

“It surprised me, there’s nothing up there anymore,” he said. The only exception was tiny pieces of the aircraft embedded in the ledges, which took the majority of the impact.

Trees, chopped off at mid-height by the plane’s propellers 50 years ago, had regrown. If a visitor knew where to look, he or she might notice a slight discoloration of the rock ledges where the plane burned.

Rapsis said when he gets to the site Saturday he plans to scout out a good spot to place a granite marker in remembrance of the 44 people of Flight 946.

Now that Rapsis, by virtue of his new position, is immersed in the history of New Hampshire’s airline industry, do his thoughts turn more often to the what-ifs of Flight 946?

Staff photo by Dean Shalhoup Among the memorabilia Jeff Rapsis has of the 1968 airline crash that claimed the life of his father, Capt. John Rapsis, is a 40th-anniversary story package the Valley News of Lebanon ran in 2008. Rapsis is involved in hosting a program and hike marking the 50th anniversary on Saturday

“‘You have to move on with your lives’ … that’s what my mother used to say. That’s what my father would have said.”

Dean Shalhoup’s column appears Sundays in The Telegraph. He can be reached at 594-1256,

dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com or@Telegraph_DeanS.

IF YOU GO

The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire is sponsoring a program and site visit to mark the 50th anniversary of the crash of Northeast Airlines Flight 946, which claimed 32 lives, including that of the pilot, Nashua resident Capt. John Rapsis.

WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Oct. 13

WHERE: Granite Air Center at Lebanon Municipal Airport, 58 Airport Road, West Lebanon

HOW MUCH: Free. Advance registration recommended; contact Stacy Borden, 669-4820 or sborden@nhahs.org, or Jeff Rapsis, 236-9237

MORE: A hike to the crash site will take place following the presentation. Hike participants will carpool to the Hanover trailhead of the Appalachian Trail then hike roughly four hours to the site over rugged terrain