ACCIDENT SYNOPSIS:
June 30, 1956. Two transcontinental airliners departed three minutes apart from Los Angeles International Airport in California. Trans World Airlines Flight 2, (N6902C), a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation en-route to Kansas City, MO and then continuing to Baltimore/Washington D.C. TWA Flight 2 carried 70 passengers and crew, many of which were TWA employees and families traveling on company passes. United Air Lines Flight 718 was a Douglas DC-7, (N6324C) bound for Chicago, IL with 58 passengers and crew.
Based on their destinations and routes, both aircraft would be flying converging courses to their destinations; however a request for altitude change by TWA Flight 2 due to weather brought both aircraft to fly at a cruising altitude of 21,000 feet.
At 1030 AM (PST), both aircraft collided over eastern the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona. There were no warnings, no alerts, and no survivors among the 128 persons. Only a garbled distress call received from United flight 718 would give any hint of a problem.
After an hour of repeated calls from air traffic control, the two flights were officially reported as missing and overdue. A search for the airliners was initiated by several military and state agencies, but it was Palen Hudgin and his brother flying an air tour with Grand Canyon Airlines that would later recall seeing smoke near Temple Butte earlier in the day. The two returned before dark and confirmed the impact site of the TWA Constellation on the northeast slope of Temple Butte. Not far from the burning wreckage was the Constellation's distinctive triple tail smashed against the boulders.
Authorities acted quickly on the Hudgin's report of the downed aircraft and the following morning a military helicopter would not only confirm the brother's sighting, but also discovered the smoldering impact site of the DC-7 atop a 1,000 foot ledge of Chuar Butte. At the time it was the worst air disaster in the history of civil aviation.
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HISTORICAL SUMMARY:
The following photos depict this historical but tragic event in aviation history. As a result of this accident many improvements were made to the national airspace system such as nationwide radar coverage and ATC transponder requirements. After a series of congressional hearings, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was also created as a result of this tragedy.
Since 1990, I have made five trips into the Grand Canyon to map and document the impact sites and remaining wreckage. Each examination visit required a 6-7 day backpacking trip (40+ miles) as well as a solo crossing by raft of the Colorado River to reach the sites.
June 30, 1956. Two transcontinental airliners departed three minutes apart from Los Angeles International Airport in California. Trans World Airlines Flight 2, (N6902C), a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation en-route to Kansas City, MO and then continuing to Baltimore/Washington D.C. TWA Flight 2 carried 70 passengers and crew, many of which were TWA employees and families traveling on company passes. United Air Lines Flight 718 was a Douglas DC-7, (N6324C) bound for Chicago, IL with 58 passengers and crew.
Based on their destinations and routes, both aircraft would be flying converging courses to their destinations; however a request for altitude change by TWA Flight 2 due to weather brought both aircraft to fly at a cruising altitude of 21,000 feet.
At 1030 AM (PST), both aircraft collided over eastern the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona. There were no warnings, no alerts, and no survivors among the 128 persons. Only a garbled distress call received from United flight 718 would give any hint of a problem.
After an hour of repeated calls from air traffic control, the two flights were officially reported as missing and overdue. A search for the airliners was initiated by several military and state agencies, but it was Palen Hudgin and his brother flying an air tour with Grand Canyon Airlines that would later recall seeing smoke near Temple Butte earlier in the day. The two returned before dark and confirmed the impact site of the TWA Constellation on the northeast slope of Temple Butte. Not far from the burning wreckage was the Constellation's distinctive triple tail smashed against the boulders.
Authorities acted quickly on the Hudgin's report of the downed aircraft and the following morning a military helicopter would not only confirm the brother's sighting, but also discovered the smoldering impact site of the DC-7 atop a 1,000 foot ledge of Chuar Butte. At the time it was the worst air disaster in the history of civil aviation.
***********************************************************************************************************************************
HISTORICAL SUMMARY:
The following photos depict this historical but tragic event in aviation history. As a result of this accident many improvements were made to the national airspace system such as nationwide radar coverage and ATC transponder requirements. After a series of congressional hearings, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was also created as a result of this tragedy.
Since 1990, I have made five trips into the Grand Canyon to map and document the impact sites and remaining wreckage. Each examination visit required a 6-7 day backpacking trip (40+ miles) as well as a solo crossing by raft of the Colorado River to reach the sites.
AIRCRAFT INVOLVED:
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, (N6902C) "Star of the Seine" photographed for a pre-delivery photo shoot.
On May 22, 1952, ship #902 was TWA's second Super Constellation to be delivered to the airline from an original order of 10 aircraft placed by the airline on December 5, 1950.
The aircraft had accumulated 10,519 flight hours by June 30, 1956. (LostFlights Archive Photo)
Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, (N6902C) "Star of the Seine" photographed for a pre-delivery photo shoot.
On May 22, 1952, ship #902 was TWA's second Super Constellation to be delivered to the airline from an original order of 10 aircraft placed by the airline on December 5, 1950.
The aircraft had accumulated 10,519 flight hours by June 30, 1956. (LostFlights Archive Photo)
Photographed in-flight is United Air Lines Douglas DC-7, N6302C bearing the same livery that "Mainliner Vancouver", N6324C would have had at the time of the accident. (LostFlights Archive Photo)
An early TWA promotional brochure from 1951 introducing the new Super Constellation.
1954 TWA Super Constellation advertisement.
During the early 1950s, TWA provided advertising photos of N6902C to companies that built aircraft systems for the Lockheed Super Constellation. In this case, B.F. Goodrich for providing wing and tail De-Ice Boots.
N6902C on a period postcard for TWA. Needless to say after the accident, TWA no longer produced postcards or advertisements that featured the ill-fated airliner.
FLIGHT CREW OF TWA FLIGHT 2;
Captain Jack S. Gandy, 41 was a veteran pilot for Trans World Airlines with 14,922 hours total time and 7,208 hours in the Lockheed Constellation. Captain Gandy had been with TWA since 1939 and became a Captain on DC-3s in 1942.
Captain Gandy having served active duty during WW2, he also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1937-1954. Gandy was familiar with the route on June 30th, having flown it more than 177 times.
Captain Jack S. Gandy, 41 was a veteran pilot for Trans World Airlines with 14,922 hours total time and 7,208 hours in the Lockheed Constellation. Captain Gandy had been with TWA since 1939 and became a Captain on DC-3s in 1942.
Captain Gandy having served active duty during WW2, he also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1937-1954. Gandy was familiar with the route on June 30th, having flown it more than 177 times.
Co-pilot James Ritner, 31 had been with TWA since 1951. Based in Kansas City, Ritner had 6,976 hours with 825 hours in the Super Constellation.
Forrest Breyfogle, 37 was TWA Flight 2's Flight Engineer.
Harry Allen, 35 was a new Flight Engineer for TWA. He was traveling home on Flight 2 as an Additional Crew Member (ACM) en-route to Kansas City.
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