Oh, well... I guess I shouldn't get peeved about requests for information on this song. Every request goads me to look a little deeper. Pulitzer's Coalinga Record newspaper says

In 1948, the crash of what was then the most disastrous airline crash in California history was handled nation wide completely through the offices of the Coalinga Record.

I wrote to the newspaper and the Coalinga Public Library this afternoon to see what they can dig up.
-Joe Offer-

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Note from Joe Offer, 20 March 2012: I did receive a very nice letter from the the retired editor of the Coalinga Record. He was a young reporter for the newspaper in 1948, and he's the one who covered the crash. His story was picked up by the Associated Press, and Woody Guthrie probably read a summary of that story. I meant to contact the man again, but I got married about the time I received his letter, and then my daughter had a terrible accident in San Diego and I misplaced his letter forgot about it until years later, when it was too late to feel right about contacting him. I'm in Coalinga this evening, and I'm wondering if he's still alive. He certainly was gracious to write to me.