June 30, 1956: Trans World Airlines / United Air Lines, Lockheed L-1049 (N6902C) / Douglas DC-7 (N6324C) Mid-Air Collision, Grand Canyon, AZ
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.
Holding a fragment of light blue ceramic dishware from the United Air Lines flight. Fragments of light tan TWA ceramic dishware were also found at the salvage site. (LOSTFLIGHTS)
Chuar Butte and the north face of the ledge in which United Flight 718 impacted is photographed from the east rim in 2006. (2006 LostFlights)
Aluminum slag either from one of the impact sites or from aluminum smelting was found at the salvage site. The smelting of aircraft wreckage into aluminum ingots is a common way to transport large amounts of alloy materials. (2007 LostFlights)
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ARCHIVE
The Grand Canyon National Park maintains a collection of both prehistoric and historic artifacts recovered from the depths of the canyon.
Aside from an extensive library documenting the event, the only artifact from the 1956 accident currently in the archive is this landing gear door panel from the United Air Lines DC-7.
ARIZONA HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARCHIVE
Located a few hundred miles south of Grand Canyon in Tucson, Arizona are a few fragments of the accident housed in the collection archives of the Arizona Historical Society (AHS).
This fragment of the co-pilot's flight control wheel was located at the UAL main impact site. It was anonymously donated to the collection in 1967.
Another artifact housed in the AHS Archive is this pilots headphone speaker. It is not known if this artifact was removed from the United Air Lines or TWA site.
The use of these communication headphones was common in both the DC-7 and Constellation aircraft.
UNITED AIR LINES FLIGHT 718 MEMORIAL
Mass grave for 31 unidentified UAL Flight 718 passengers and crew.
This memorial/grave is located near the Shrine of the Ages on the South Rim.
PASSENGERS OF UAL FLIGHT 718:
Roberta Wilde of Los Angeles and Wesslau G. Wright of Pacific Palisades were among those lost on UAL Flight 718. (AP Wirephoto)
Carl J. Snyder, Vice President of the Chrysler Corporation was one of the more prominate passengers aboard UAL Flight 718.
Phyllis Berman 46, was traveling on United Flight 718.
11 year old Fred Staecker was traveling by himself on Flight 718 to visit his grandparents for a fishing trip in Wisconsin.
He was scheduled on a later flight but it was decided to put him on an earlier flight so he could start his vacation sooner.
He was taken to the airport by his parents. They saw him board the plane and left him in the care of the stewardesses.
This was to have been a very special vacation trip for Fred. A month ago he had dicarded his crutches after suffering a broken leg in a football game. Before the leg healed enough to permit the use of crutches, he had been in traction, encumbered by a heavy cast and then confined to a wheelchair.
Jeffrey Crider, 4 and his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Crider, 28 were traveling back east on UAL Flight 718.
PASSENGERS OF TWA FLIGHT 2:
Mass Grave for 68 unidentified TWA Flight 2 passengers and crew located in Flagstaff, Arizona. Photo was taken June 30th 2006 on the 50th anniversary of the collision. (2006 LostFlights)
TWA Flight 2 mass grave marker located in Flagstaff, Arizona. (2002 LostFlights)
TWA Flight 2 also had a prominent passenger by the name of Richard C. Noel, 65 who was also traveling with his wife Marietta. Mr. Noel was a partner in a Manhattan brokerage firm and a corporate director.
Building Investor and Real Estate Broker John Maag, 39 and his wife Claire, 37 were passengers traveling on TWA Flight 2 with their month old son Howard John Maag.
Richard Payne Jr., 14 and Monica Payne, 9 were traveling with their father Richard on TWA Flight 2.
Richard D. Payne, a TWA reservations supervisor in Los Angeles was traveling with his two children.
Friends said Payne was taking the children to the farm of their grandparents near Des Moines, Ia. where they planned to spend the summer.
Mrs. Payne, did not make the trip.
America was shocked by the disaster but the headlines took center stage when news broke that entire families were lost in the disaster like the Kite Family on TWA Flight 2.
Pictured are TWA employee Joseph J. Kite, 42 his wife Peachie Marie Kite, 38 and their children Linda, 7 and Sharon, 9.
TWA passenger and employee Martha Beck, 21 was like many TWA employees traveling on free company passes to Kansas City that morning.
Andrew Nasalroad was a gas station owner from Pacoima, Ca. who decided at the last minute to keep his reservation on TWA Flight 2.
He was on his way to Missouri, where his wife and two children were visiting relatives.
Robert Perisho, 30 was an Abalone Diver from Long Beach, California.
Little Linda Braughton, 9 was riding on TWA Flight 2 with her mother Esther and 6 year old sister Connie.
Dr. James Joseph Jang Phd., 39 was a Chemical Engineer for the Fluor Corporation and a passenger on TWA Flight 2.
Alice Meyer, 41 was a senior secretary for TWA.
Flight 2 passenger Thomas E. Ashton Jr., 34 was an Industrial Relations Supervisor for TWA.
Gloria K. Townsend, 33 was not only a teletype operator for TWA, but she was also voted Miss Kansas City in 1940. She was returning home on Flight 2.
Dennis Phelen, 33 was an Aerodynamacist for TWA.
Carolyn Ruth Wiley, 23 was a TWA Reservations Agent who booked her own travel arrangements on Flight 2.
Stephen R. Bishop, 19 worked as an intern in the TWA Archives Department. He was returning home from a vacation in Southern California.
TWA Flight 2 passenger Lillian Carple, 39 worked as an Elevator Operator in the Los Angeles area.
TWA Flight 2 passenger Rosalie McClenney, 25 was a Stenography Unit Supervisor for TWA.
CREATION OF THE FAA:
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - 2006
During 2006, the National Park Service took steps to document the 1956 impact locations as historical archaeological sites. After 50 years the terrain of Chuar Butte still proves difficult and dangerous for researchers. (NPS Photo)
The old under-powered Chinook and Sikorsky Helicopters that were used during the 1956 recovery operations have been replaced by modern helicopters such as the jet-powered Bell 407. This photo taken at the impact site of United Flight 718 on Chuar Butte. (NPS Photo)
In August 2006, NPS Archaeologists and Anthropologists documented the impact site of TWA Flight 2.
The efforts will help nominate the accident site for National Historic Landmark status thus further protecting this historical resource for future generations. (NPS Photo)
