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and became known as the Air Mail Scandal. After a public outcry and a Senate investigation, MacCracken, who had been the first U. S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics, was indicted and convicted for Contempt of Congress on February 5, 1934. Two days later, Roosevelt issued an order suspending every single CAM contract.Emergency Air Mail FlightsOn February 19, 1934, President Roosevelt ordered the newly formed Army Air Corps Mail Operation (AACMO) to take over all air-mail flights in the United States%u2014but covering a greatly reduced service area. This occurred with only a few days notice, and Congress was assured the Army was capable of doing the job. But, in reality, it was ill-prepared for the new responsibility, particularly flying at night and in severe weather, over unfamiliar routes. Plus, it assigned obsolete, open-cockpit trainer aircraft to junior officers with little flight experience, who were mostly accustomed to daylight flying. Humorist (and aviation enthusiast) Will Rogers predicted that %u201cyou are going to lose some fine boys in these Army fliers, who are marvelously trained in their line, but not in night cross-country flying in rain and snow.%u201d He was right. In less than three months, there were numerous crashes, resulting in 66 major accidents, and the deaths of 13 airmen, which led to more public criticism that embarrassed President Roosevelt. There were six possible 1934 emergency flights in Indiana, flown by AACMO, serving three Indiana cities: Terre Haute, Evansville, and Indianapolis. Covers flown on the routes are scarce, because no cachets were provided, and inscriptions were uncommon. The emergency flights were given the designation of AM flights, for Air Mail (as opposed to the older CAM flights, Commercial Air Mail).Air Mail (AM) FlightsIn response to the deaths of Army pilots, Congress enacted yet another Air Mail Act in 1934, which put air mail back in the hands of commercial airlines, using the designation of AM flights (as had been the case with the Emergency Air Mail flights). The new regulations required bidding to be more competitive, and forbade companies that held old contracts from obtaining new ones. In order to comply with the new rules, most old contractors simply changed their names to get the new contracts. For example, Eastern Air Transport became Eastern Air Lines and American Airways became American Airlines. The AM flights continued into the jet age%u2014until May 1, 1977, when domestic air mail became obsolete in the United States and regular mail was routinely transported by plane.FFUSOn December 1, 1978, as a result of the Airline Deregulation Act, the system of AM routes evolved into Air Mail being flown by individual airlines. After this, First Flights were known as F.F.U.S. (First Flights by United States Airlines). Covers flown on most of these flights have no cachets and are relatively scarce.Other First Air Mail FlightsDuring 1938%u2019s National Air Mail Week, there were many first (and only) air-mail flights that departed from airports (real or makeshift) in small communities across the country. There were also first flights that originated during airport dedication ceremonies. In both cases, the flights were celebratory, not a prelude to regular service, and there were often no subsequent flights. This stamp was designed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt especially for National Air Mail Week in 1938.