A University of Illinois graduate, Julian Nardi was chief mechanical engineer with the Manhattan-based firm of Ford, Bacon & Davis. A 24-year veteran of the company, he had expertise in coal-slurry pipelines and had given a technical presentation to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
He lived on Cedar Lane in Sands Point, Long Island with his wife Edith.
He was on his way to visit his son in Charlottesville, Frank J. Nardi, who was then an engineer with the company known as Sperry Marine, according to a contemporary account in the Daily Progress.
He was also survived by a daughter, Mary Liddle Nardi, and two step-daughters, according to a New York Times story following the the crash.