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. It was the worst 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. I am currently working in cooperation with the Grand Canyon National Park to help establish the entire crash site area as a National Historical Site which would further protect this historical resource.
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. It was the worst 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. I am currently working in cooperation with the Grand Canyon National Park to help establish the entire crash site area as a National Historical Site which would further protect this historical resource.
United Air Lines official Richard Petty (left) meets with TWA's Vice President of Operations, John Collings at the Grand Canyon Red Butte Airport.
TWA FLIGHT 2 MAIN IMPACT SITE:
NPS File photo of the TWA Impact Site. Taken during the CAB's wreckage recovery visit of October 1956.
NPS File photo of the TWA Impact Site. Taken during the CAB's wreckage recovery visit of October 1956.
A burned forward fuselage fragment photographed at the TWA impact site, July 1956. (NPS Photo)
October 1956 photo of the TWA Impact Site. (NPS Photo)
Overview photo of the TWA main impact site taken during July 1956. After the collision and with the separation of the tail section, the Constellation pitched over and decended vertically and inverted until impact.
A fragment of the Constellation's fuselage.
TWA Flight 2 impacted the north slope of a ravine on the northeast corner of Temple Butte. A majority of the aircraft cabin burned at the bottom of the ravine.
RECOVERY OPERATIONS - JULY 1956
Recovery team including officials from United Air Lines prepare for takeoff in a Army H-21 Piasecki Helicopter. (Time)
Recovery team including officials from United Air Lines prepare for takeoff in a Army H-21 Piasecki Helicopter. (Time)
Officials atop the 1,000 foot ledge of Chuar Butte recovering victims from United's Flight 718.
Recovery teams await Army helicopter at the landing site on Temple Butte. Full body bags in foreground.
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