1955 — Oct 6, United Air Lines Flight 409 flies into Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming –all 66

–66 AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 10061955.
–66 Aviation Safety Network (ASN). Accident Description, United 409, October 6, 1955
–66 CAB. AIR. United Air Lines, Inc.,…Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming, October 6, 1955.
–66 Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. “66 Lose Lives in Wyoming Air Disasters,” October 7, 1955.
–66 Gero. Aviation Disasters…World’s Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950. 1996, p. 19.
–66 Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, p. 204.

Narrative Information

Civil Aeronautics Board: “United Air Lines Flight 409, a Douglas C-54B-DC, E 30062, struck Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming, near its top at approximately 0726, October 6, 1955. All of the occupants were killed and the aircraft was demolished.

“Flight 409 originated at New York, New York, on October 5, 1955, destination San Francisco, California, with intermediate stops including Chicago, Illinois, Denver, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The trip to Denver was routine except for traffic delays, caused principally by weather, and the flight arrived there at 0551, October 6, one hour and 11 minutes late…. The flight departed Denver at 0633, with 63 passengers, including two infants…. Flight 409 reported its time off to the company and this was the last known radio contact with the flight.

“When the flight failed to report at Rock Springs at 0811, its estimated reporting time, repeated efforts were made to establish radio contact with it. These were unsuccessful and the company then declared an emergency. A widespread search was immediately coordinated by Air Search and Rescue, which included the Wyoming Air National Guard, the Civil Air Patrol, and United Air Lines. At approximately 1140 the same day the wreckage was sighted near Medicine Bow Peak, 33 miles west of Laramie, Wyoming. The Laramie weather at 0728 was; Scattered clouds, 5,500 feet; visibility 40 miles; wind west-northwest 13 knots; snow showers of unknown intensity over the mountains.

“The aircraft struck the almost vertical rock cliff of the east slope of Medicine Bow Peak (elevation 12,005 feet) located in the Medicine Bow Mountains. The crash occurred at an elevation of 11,570 feet, 60 feet below the top of that portion of the mountain directly above it…. At impact the aircraft disintegrated and the wreckage me strewn over a wide area. Some parts were thrown to the mountain top above the crash site, others rested on ledges at various levels, and the remainder fell to the slope below.

“In order to be closer to the scene so that the recovery operation and investigation could be conducted expeditiously, a base camp was established on the mountainside at an elevation of 10,400 feet. Above the camp, travel was extremely difficult up a talus slope to the base of the cliff. From there it was necessary to scale the almost vertical cliff a distance of 600 feet to reach the point of impact. Because of the rugged terrain, groups of experienced mountain climbers were formed in an effort to reach locations otherwise inaccessible. Removal of the bodies of the victims took several days because of the rugged terrain and snow conditions. While this was being accomplished investigation was considerably hampered by falling rocks dislodged by the climbers….

“No evidence was found in the examination of the recovered parts of the aircraft or its components to indicate that fire or structural failure had occurred prior to impact….

“It is obvious from the established flight path that the aircraft deviated from the planned route a number of miles to the west of course….it can be concluded that considering the weather conditions and mountainous terrain the aircraft was flying at a dangerously low altitude at that time….

“An extension in both directions of the known flight path indicates that either a shortcut was being attempted when the accident occurred or that the crew was incapacitated and the aircraft was flying without assistance.

“…the Board is of the opinion that there is insufficient evidence to establish that the deviation from the planned route was due to incapacitation of the crew, errors in navigation, or malfunctioning of the aircraft or any of its components, but rather that the pilot deviated from the planned course for reasons unknown….” (CAB. AIR. United Air Lines, Inc.,…Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming, October 6, 1955.)

ASN: On October 6, 1955, United Air Lines Flight 409 left Denver-Stapleton Airport carrying 63 passengers and a crew of three. Destination Salt Lake City. For unknown reasons the pilot deviated from the intended flight path. ‘At a point 20 miles west off course and 30 miles west of Laramie, the aircraft flew into a cloud covered sheer rock wall (Medicine Bow Peak)…’ (ASN, United 409, October 6, 1955)

Airdisaster.com: “The aircraft crashed after the pilots became incapacitated from carbon monoxide leaking from a faulty cabin heater.” (AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 10061955.)

Newspaper

Oct 7, Fitchburg Sentinel: “Skilled climbers fought bitter cold and winds on a snow-covered mountain today to retrieve the bodies of 66 persons killed yesterday in the worst commercial airline crash in U.S. history. Their goal was the near-perpendicular south face of 12,005-foot Medicine Bow Peak, where a United Air Lines DC 4 crashed within an hour after leaving Denver for Salt Lake City and San Francisco…. The craft struck about 50-75 feet from the top of the peak.” (Fitchburg Sentinel, “66 Lose Lives in Wyoming Air Disasters,” October 7, 1955)

Sources

AirDisaster.com. Accident Database. Accident Synopsis 10061955. Accessed at: http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=10061955&reg=N30062&airline=United+Airlines

Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United Air Lines Flight 409, October 6, 1955. Accessed 12-20-2008 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19551006-0

Civil Aeronautics Board. Accident Investigation Report. United Air Lines, Inc., Douglas C-54B-DC, N 30062, Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming, October 6, 1955. CAB, Mar 22, 1957, 11 pp. Accessed at: http://dotlibrary1.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=8&name=*P%3A%5CDOT%5Cairplane%20accidents%5Cwebsearch%5C100655.pdf (inoperable on 4-6-2023). Accessed 4-6-2023 at: file:///C:/Users/Wayne/Downloads/dot_33537_DS1-1.pdf

Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. “66 Lose Lives in Wyoming Air Disasters,” October 7, 1955. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/freepdfviewer.aspx?img=39186012

Gero, David. Aviation Disasters: The World’s Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950 (Second Edition). London: Patrick Stephens Limited, 1996.

Haine, Edgar A. Disaster in the Air. New York: Cornwall Books, 2000, 394 pages.