1956 — June 30, TWA Flight 2 & United 718 Collide (all killed), Grand Canyon AZ — 128

— 128 AirDisaster.Com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 06301956.
— 128 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United 718, June 30, 1956
— 128 CAB. AIR. Trans World Airlines, Inc., Lockheed 1049A, N 69020, and United Air…
— 128 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 370.
— 128 Fresno Bee Republican (CA), “Copters Find First of 128 Bodies…” July 2, 1956
— 128 Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, p. 191.
— 128 Hansen, McAndrews, Berkeley. History of Aviation Safety in the United States. 2005, 18.
— 128 NationMaster.com. Encyclopedia. “List of Notable Air Accidents.”
— 128 Sanders, et al. The Management of Losses Arising from Extreme Events. GIRO, 2002.
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Narrative Information

ASN: “TWA Flight 2, a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, took off from Los Angeles (LAX) at 09:01 PST for…Kansas City (MKC). After reporting “on top” of the clouds at 2400 feet the crew contacted Los Angeles ARTCC. Clearance was given to climb to 19000 feet. Immediately thereafter TWA 2 asked for a routing change to Daggett via Victor Airway 210, This was approved. At 09:21 Flight 2 reported that it was approaching Daggett and requested a change in flight plan altitude assignment from 19,000 to 21,000 feet. The request was not approved because of traffic at FL210 (United Flight 718). A request for 1000 on top was granted. At 09:59 Flight 2 reported its position through company radio at Las Vegas. It reported that it had passed Lake Mohave at 09:55, was 1,000 on top at 21,000 feet, and estimated it would reach the 321-degree radial of the Winslow omni range station (Painted Desert) at 10:31. This was the last radio communication with the flight.

”United Flight 718, a DC-7, had departed from Los Angeles at 09:04 for…Chicago… At approximately 09:58 United 718 made a position report to the CAA communications station located at Needles. This report stated that the flight was over Needles at 09:58, at 21,000 feet, and estimated the Painted Desert at 10:31.

“Both aircraft were at the same altitude on an intersecting course over Grand Canyon. United 718 was heading 46 degrees Magnetic and TWA 2 was heading 59 degrees Magnetic. Both aircraft collided in mid-air. First contact involved the centre fin leading edge of the Constellation and the left aileron tip of the DC-7. The lower surface of the DC-7 left wing struck the upper aft fuselage of the L-1049 with disintegrating force. The collision ripped open the fuselage of the Constellation from just forward of its tail to near the main cabin door. The empennage of the L-1049 separated almost immediately. The plane pitched down and fell to the ground. Most of the left outer wing of the DC-7 had separated and aileron control was restricted, causing the plane to fall to the ground out of control.” (Aviation Safety Network, United 718, June 30, 1956)

CAB: “At approximately 1031, 1 June 30, 1956, a Trans World Airlines Lockheed 1049A, N 69020, and a United Air Lines Douglas DC-7, N 6324C, collided at about 21,000 feet 2 over Grand Canyon, Arizona. Both aircraft fell into the Canyon near the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers. There were no survivors among the 128 persons aboard the flights (70 aboard TWA and 58 aboard United). Both aircraft were destroyed….

“Probable cause: The pilots did not see each other in time to avoid the collision. It is not possible to determine why the pilots did not see each other, but the evidence suggests that it resulted from any one or a combination of the following factors: 1) Intervening clouds reducing time for visual separation; 2) Visual limitations due to cockpit visibility, and; 3) Preoccupation with normal cockpit duties; 4) Preoccupation with matters unrelated to cockpit duties such as attempting to provide the passengers with a more scenic view of the Grand Canyon area; 5) Physiological limits to human vision reducing the time opportunity to see and avoid the other aircraft, or; 6) Insufficiency of en-route air traffic advisory information due to inadequacy of facilities and lack of personnel in air traffic control.” (CAB. AIR. Trans World Airlines, Inc., Lockheed 1049A, N 69020, and United Air…)

NationMaster.com: “June 30 – United Airlines Flight 718, a DC-7 flying from Los Angeles to Chicago, and TWA Flight 2, a Lockheed Constellation flying from Los Angeles to Kansas City, collide over the Grand Canyon, killing all 128 people on board both planes. The pilots of both planes had requested to fly into the Grand Canyon’s airspace to view the canyon, but did not see each other. A direct result of this crash was United States President Eisenhower’s ordering the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration in 1957, to help provide safe separation of aircraft using radar.” (NationMaster.com, Encyclopedia, List of Notable Accidents and Incidents on Com. Aircraft)
Newspaper

July 2: “The TWA plane carried 64 passengers and a crew of six; the DC7 53 passengers and five crew members.” (Fresno Bee Republican, CA, “Copters Find First of 128 Bodies After Twin Grand Canyon Crash,” July 2, 1956.)

Sources

AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 06301956. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=06301956&reg=N6324C&airline=Trans+World+Airlines

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United Air Lines Flight 718, June 30, 1956. Accessed 12-20-2008 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19560630-0

Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Report. Trans World Airlines, Inc., Lockheed 1049A, N 69020, and United Air Lines, Inc., Douglas DC-7, N 63240, Grand Canyon, Arizona, June 30, 1956. Washington, DC: CAB (File No. 1-0090), April 17, 1957, 32 pages. Accessed at: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*P%3A%5CDOT%5Cairplane%20accidents%5Cwebsearch%5C063056.pdf

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

Fresno Bee, CA. “Copters Find First of 128 Bodies After Twin Grand Canyon Crash,” July 2, 1956. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/freepdfviewer.aspx?img=44372950

Hansen, Mark, Carolyn McAndrews, Emily Berkeley. History of Aviation Safety in the United States. Berkeley, CA: University of California at Berkeley, Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Report NR-2005-001, The National Center of Excellence for Aviation Operations Research, March 2005, 78 pages. Accessed at: http://www.nextor.org/pubs/NR-2005-001.pdf

NationMaster.com. Encyclopedia. “List of Notable Accidents and Incidents on Commercial Aircraft.” Accessed 12-15-2008 at: http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/List-of-notable-accidents-and-incidents-on-commercial-aircraft

Sanders, D.E.A. (Chair), et al. The Management of Losses Arising from Extreme Events. GIRO, 2002, 261 pgs. At: http://www.actuaries.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/18729/Sanders.pdf