Some Say Howard Hughes Stopped Over In El Paso

August 30, 1972

By BRUCE BISSONETTE

Howard Hughes, the eccentric multimillionaire, may have stopped over briefly in El Paso Tuesday, enroute from Vancouver, B.C., to Managua, Nicaragua. Although only one El Pasoan supposedly saw Hughes, many others insisted the legendary figure was aboard the twin-jet executive airliner, registered to Hilton Hotels, that landed at International Airport shortly before noon.

The lone El Pasoan, who reportedly had a first-hand glimpse of the rarely seen Hughes, preferred to remain anonymous and refused to acknowledge whether he did in fact or did not see the 66-year-old recluse. As a U.S. Customs Inspector he claimed he is required by law not to reveal the identity of persons he deals with. In the manner typical of many government employes he passed such responsibility on to a higher authority, where again it was neither denied or confirmed that Hughes was aboard the aircraft.

But it was learned, from several airport sources, that the Customs Inspector had a “run-in” with crewmembers of the plane, a Grumman Gulfstream II, who reportedly refused to allow the Inspector access to a closed compartment on the plane.

The Inspectors admitted that actions by the crewmembers aroused his suspicions. “As a law enforcement officer,” he said. “I do become suspicious when people behave in an unusual manner.” He did not elaborate on how “unusual” their manners were, but he said he “stepped around” people who attempted to block his way inside the plane.

There were nine persons aboard the plane including the crew of three, the Inspector said, adding that he was satisfied as to the number of persons aboard, their citizenship, and the contents of cargo and baggage.

During its 45-minute stopover, the plane was refueled by Southwest Air Rangers, with a total of 2,000 gallons of jet fuel pumped into the Gulfstream's tanks. No Southwest Air Rangers personnel were permitted aboard the plane, not even for terminal servicing (cleaning, restocking etc.), as is the customary practice in customer servicing.

The fact that Hughes may have been aboard the plane came to light when a conversation between the pilot and Customs Inspector was overheard. The pilot, apparently in an attempt to end the inspector’s suspicions, indicated the importance of a particular passenger and just who he was.

Although executive jet aircraft operate in and out of El Paso many times daily and are often involved with customs inspections, Tuesday’s incident was strange in many ways, say airport personnel. One long-time employe said, “It must have been him … that was as strange a deal as I’ve seen and everybody knows he’s strange.”

At 12:19 p.m., the sleek jet lifted off El Paso International Airport.

Comments

[Erick]

What a great article to bring back to life. I love Howard's life story and would have done anything to meet the man.

Great article.

[ShyMiner]

good write up