- ACCIDENT DETAILS
Date: June 30, 1956
Time: 1032
Location: Grand Canyon, Arizona
Operator: United Air Lines / Trans World Airlines
Flight #: 718 / 2
Route: Los Angeles - Chicago / Los Angeles - Kansas City
AC Type: Douglas DC-7 / Lockheed S Constellation
Registration: N6902C/N6324C
cn / ln: 44288 / 4016
Aboard: 128   (passengers:117  crew:11)
Fatalities: 128   (passengers:117  crew:11)
Ground: 0
Summary: The TWA aircraft flying from Los Angeles to Kansas City and the United Aircraft flying from Los Angeles to Chicago collided over the Grand Canyon. Both planes were traveling about 320 mph. Both aircraft were flying in uncontrolled airspace. All fifty-eight on the DC-7 and seventy on the Constellation killed. 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 3) Preoccupation with normal cockpit duties. This is the accident that led to the adoption of the Air Route Traffic Centers that track planes across the country and the formation of the FAA.
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