Photograph of airmail pilot William Carroll

c. 1921

William Carroll began flying for the Post Office Department on August 7, 1920. On October 16, 1920, he was transferred to a newly created airmail line connecting Chicago, llinois and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Carroll was piloting a Junkers JL-6 aircraft with fellow airmail pilot Hiram H. Rowe and mechanic Robert B. Hill on board. Carroll was taking the pair on a path-finding tour of the route on February 9, 1921 when tragedy struck. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion and watching in horror as the airplane burst into flames and dived into the ground. All three men were killed in the crash.