Crash mail

Crash mail, or Interrupted flight mail are covers recovered from an aircraft accident. These can be damaged by fire, water or impact. Recovered mail is sent on with explanatory cachets handstamped or even handwritten notations. Those markings are always brief but enough to identify accidents. If severely damaged, mail can be placed in ambulatory envelopes for forwarding to their intended destination.

A descriptive listing of US crash covers is available in the American Air Mail Catalogue, volume 1.

Experimental rocket mail also has its (private) markings for explosions and other accidents.  File:Egypt to Scotland crash.jpg|1937 cover from unknown accident. File:US 1944 crash cover.jpg|1944 US crash into the Mississippi River. Note the loss of a 3c stamp. File:GB to US crash 1954.jpg|1954 British Prestwick Airport crash cover. Note the major repair job. 

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