1960 New York mid-air collision

Aviation disaster in New York City August 2026 United Air Lines Flight 826 the 1997 clear-air turbulence incident United Airlines Flight 826 1960 New York mid-air collision Photo of United 826 crash site 2.jpg The crash site of the United Air Lines DC-8 in Park Slope, Brooklyn Accident 1960 12 16 Mid-air collision Miller Field, Near New York City, U.S. 40 34 07 N 74 07 19 W region:US-NY_type:landmark inline,title 134 0 6 Douglas DC-8-11 N8002U (7859010756).jpg A jetliner on the apron A United Air Lines Douglas DC-8 that was similar to the aircraft involved in the accident. Douglas DC-8-11 Mainliner Will Rogers United Air Lines UA826 UAL826 UNITED 826 N8013U Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL Idlewild Airport, New York City 84 77 7 84 0 Chicago Midway Airport - TWA - Lockheed Constellation (L-1049A) N6907C.jpg N6907C, the Lockheed L-1049A Super Constellation involved in the accident, in 1957 Lockheed L-1049A Super Constellation Star of Sicily Trans World Airlines TW266 TWA266 TWA 266 N6907C Dayton International Airport, Dayton, Ohio Port Columbus International Airport, Ohio LaGuardia Airport, New York 44 39 5 44 0 On December 16, 1960, a United Air Lines Douglas DC-8 heading for Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) in New York City collided in midair with a TWA Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation descending toward LaGuardia Airport.June 18, 1962 United Airlines Inc., DC-8, N8013U, and Trans World Airlines, Inc., Constellation 1049A, N6907C, Near Staten Island, New York, December 16, 1960 https://archive.org/download/Cab-aar1960-12-16-united-826-twa-266/Cab-aar1960-12-16-united-826-twa-266.pdf July 7, 2017 archive.org Civil Aeronautics Board The Constellation crashed on Miller Field in Staten Island and the DC-8 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, killing all 128 aboard the two aircraft and six people on the ground. The accident was the world's deadliest aviation disaster at the time, and remains the deadliest accident (not including terrorist incidents) in the history of United Airlines.Ranter Harro ASN Aircraft accident United Airlines UA175, NY https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/323228 July 11, 2024 Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety Foundation The accident became known as the Park Slope plane crash or the Miller Field crash,Park Slope Plane Crash http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/park-slope-plane-crash/ The New York Times December 16, 2010 March 12, 2011 named after the two sites where the aircraft landed. The accident was also the first hull loss and first fatal accident involving a Douglas DC-8.Ranter Harro ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-8-11 N8013U New York, NY https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19601216-0 February 28, 2020 Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety FoundationRanter Harro ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation N6907C Miller Army Air Station, NY https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19601216-1 February 28, 2020 Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety Foundation Aircraft and crews thumb|left|The tail assembly of N8013U, the Douglas DC-8 involved in the collision. United Air Lines Flight 826, Mainliner Will Rogers, registered as N 8013U , was a DC-8-11 carrying 77 passengers and 7 crew members from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Idlewild Airport in Queens. The crew consisted of Captain Robert Sawyer (age 46), First Officer Robert Fiebing (40), Flight Engineer Richard Pruitt (30) and four stewardesses.Swopes Bryan TWA Flight 266 https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/twa-flight-266/ May 8, 2023 This Day in Aviation Captain Sawyer was a highly experienced pilot, having accumulated 19,100 flight hours, of which 344 were in the DC-8. First Officer Fiebing had accumulated 8,400 flight hours, of which 416 were in the DC-8. Flight Engineer Pruitt had accumulated 8,500 flight hours, of which 379 were in the DC-8. Trans World Airlines Flight 266, Star of Sicily, registered as N 6907C , was a Super Constellation carrying 39 passengers and 5 crew members from Dayton and Columbus, Ohio, to LaGuardia Airport in Queens. The crew consisted of Captain David Wollam (age 39), First Officer Dean Bowen (32), Flight Engineer LeRoy "Lee" Rosenthal (30) and two stewardesses, Margaret Gernat and Patricia Post. Captain Wollam had accumulated 14,583 flight hours, 267 of which were in the Constellation. First Officer Bowen had accumulated 6,411 flight hours, of which 268 were on the Constellation. Flight Engineer Rosenthal had accumulated 3,561 flight hours, of which 204 were in the Constellation.https://www.foxnews.com/us/1960-plane-collision-over-nyc-spurred-improvements 1960 plane collision over NYC spurred improvements March 27, 2015 Associated Press en-US February 28, 2020 Star of Sicily sister ship N6902C, Star of the Seine, was destroyed in another mid-air collision with a United Air Lines flight in 1956.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rft-519-united-airlines-flight-286-trans-world-airlines/id1071171446?i=1000529664355&l=tr Ready for Takeoff - Turn Your Aviation Passion into a Career: RFT 519: United Airlines Flight 286/Trans World Airlines Flight 266 Apple Podcasts'te September 15, 2021 September 15, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210915183910/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rft-519-united-airlines-flight-286-trans-world-airlines/id1071171446?i=1000529664355&l=tr dead Background section November 2025 thumb|left|Flight paths of the two aircraft At 10:21 a.m. EST, United 826 advised ARINC radio that one of its VOR receivers was inoperative, and the message was relayed to United Air Lines maintenance. However, air-traffic control (ATC) was not informed that the aircraft had only one operational receiver, which presented difficulty for the pilots of flight 826 to identify the PRESTON intersection, beyond which it had not received clearance. At 10:25 a.m., ATC issued a revised clearance for the flight to shorten its route to the PRESTON holding point (near Laurence Harbor, New Jersey) by 12 mi km. That clearance included holding instructions (a standard "racetrack" holding pattern) for Flight 826 when it arrived at the PRESTON intersection. Flight 826 was expected to reduce its speed before reaching PRESTON to a standard holding speed of 210 kn mph km/h or lower. However, the aircraft was estimated to be traveling at 301 kn mph km/h when it collided with the TWA plane, several miles beyond the PRESTON clearance limit. During the investigation, United Air Lines claimed that the Colts Neck VOR beacon was unreliable.Witkin Richard https://www.nytimes.com/1961/01/10/archives/high-speed-laid-to-jet-in-crash-inquiry-told-craft-overshot-circle.html High Speed Laid to Jet in Crash. Inquiry Told Craft Overshot Circle Area at 500 M.P.H January 10, 1961 The New York Times March 12, 2011 0362-4331 The jet airliner in the 16 December collision here was traveling more than 500 miles an hour when it swept past its assigned circling point, an official inquiry was told yesterday. PRESTON was the point where airway V123—the 050-radial off the Robbinsville VOR—crossed the Solberg 120-degree radial and the Colts Neck 346-degree radial. However, the Civil Aeronautics Board's final report found no problem with the Colts Neck VOR. The prevailing conditions were light rain and fog, which had been preceded by snowfall. Collision and ground impacts section November 2025 thumb|left|The crash site of the TWA Super Constellation, TWA 266, in Miller Field, Staten Island. 40 39 00 N 74 0 00 W 10 right 220 220 10 United 826 (DC-8) 40 40 38 N 73 58 25 W bottom 12 TWA 266 (Super Constellation) 40 34 12 N 74 6 10.8 W right 12 United 826 (DC-8) TWA 266 (Super Constellation) 1960 NYC Mid-Air Collision.jpg Miller Field SI jeh.JPG Locations of the crash sites in New York City According to the DC-8's flight data recorder, the aircraft was 12 mi km off course, and for 81 seconds it descended at 3600 ft/min m/s while slowing from more than 400 kn mph km/h to 301 kn mph km/h at the time of the collision. One of the DC-8's starboard engines struck the Constellation just ahead of its wings, tearing apart a portion of the fuselage. The Constellation entered a dive, with debris continuing to fall as it disintegrated during its spiral to the ground. The initial impact tore the DC-8's engine from its pylon. Having lost one engine and a large part of the right wing, the DC-8 remained airborne for another 90 seconds. The DC-8 crashed into the Park Slope section of Brooklyn at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Sterling Place (40.67709 -73.97368 dms type:landmark 1960 New York mid-air collision DC-8 crash site), scattering wreckage and setting fire to ten brownstone apartment buildings, the Pillar of Fire Church, the McCaddin Funeral Home, a Chinese laundry and a delicatessen. Six people on the ground were killed.Bigart Homer December 17, 1960 DISASTER IN FOG; DC-8 Plunges Into Park Slope Street, Missing School DISASTER WORST IN U.S. AIR ANNALS Jet From Chicago Plunges in Park Slope as 2d Plane Falls in New Dorp https://www.nytimes.com/1960/12/17/archives/disaster-in-fog-dc8-plunges-into-park-slope-street-missing-school.html July 4, 2025 The New York Times 0362-4331 The crash left the remains of the DC-8 pointing southeast toward a large open field at Prospect Park, blocks from its crash site. An occupant in one of the affected apartment buildings said that his family survived because they were in the only room of their apartment that was not destroyed. The crash left a trench covering most of the length of the middle of Sterling Place. Witnesses thought that a bomb had detonated or that a building's boiler had exploded. The TWA plane crashed onto the northwest corner of Miller Field at 40.57 N 74.103 W type:landmark 1960 New York mid-air collision Constellation crash site, with some sections of the aircraft landing in New York Harbor. At least one passenger fell into a tree before the wreckage hit the ground. There was no radio contact with traffic controllers from either plane after the collision, although LaGuardia had begun tracking an incoming, fast-moving, unidentified plane from Preston toward the LaGuardia "Flatbush" outer marker.December 22, 1960 Excerpts From Tapes of Conversations at Time of Air Crash https://www.nytimes.com/1960/12/22/archives/excerpts-from-tapes-of-conversations-at-time-of-air-crash.html July 4, 2025 The New York Times 0362-4331 Investigation thumb|upright|Front page of Syracuse Post-Standard on December 17, 1960 The likely cause of the accident was identified in a report by the US Civil Aeronautics Board:United Flight 826 proceeded beyond its clearance limit and the confines of the airspace allocated to the flight by Air Traffic Control. A contributing factor was the high speed of the United DC-8 as it approached the Preston intersection, coupled with the change of clearance which reduced the en-route distance along Victor 123 by approximately 11 mi nmi km. The report notes "various steps to improve and strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of its Air Traffic Control System" based on the crash investigation. Listed steps include better reporting of malfunctioning communications/navigation equipment, retrofitting airplanes with distance measuring equipment, improved handoff techniques for air traffic control, and additional speed rules when approaching a destination airport. Victims The only person to initially survive the crash was Stephen Baltz, an 11-year-old boy from Wilmette, Illinois. He was traveling unaccompanied on Flight 826 to spend Christmas in Yonkers with relatives. He was thrown from the plane into a snowbank, where his burning clothing was extinguished. Although alive and conscious, he was severely burned and had inhaled burning fuel. Baltz died of pneumonia the next day.Perlmutter Emanuel December 18, 1960 Boy Who Survived Crash Dies; 'Stevie Tried Hard,' Father Says https://www.nytimes.com/1960/12/18/archives/boy-who-survived-crash-dies-stevie-tried-hard-father-says.html July 4, 2025 The New York Times 49 0362-4331 Other notable victims included chemist Jonas Kamlet, who was on Flight 826.May 22, 1964 Widow of Air Victim to Receive $645,000 https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/22/widow-of-air-victim-to-receive-645000.html July 4, 2025 The New York Times 0362-4331 Mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, known for being the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, was also booked onto Flight 826 but arrived too late to board.Barron James December 12, 2010 Park Slope Plane Crash A Collision in the Clouds https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/park-slope-plane-crash-the-lede-all/ October 31, 2024 City Room en Legacy In 2010, on the 50th anniversary of the accident, a memorial to the 134 victims of the two crashes was unveiled in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn. The cemetery is the site of the common grave containing the remains of those who could not be identified.December 16, 2010 New York - New Monument Marks 1960 Brooklyn Air Crash https://vosizneias.com/2010/12/16/new-york-new-monument-to-mark-1960-brooklyn-air-crash/ October 3, 2020 Vos Iz Neias en-USCarlson Jen December 16, 2010 Memorial Is Unveiled For 1960s Park Slope Plane Crash http://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/memorial-is-unveiled-for-1960s-park-slope-plane-crash live https://web.archive.org/web/20210731044200/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/memorial-is-unveiled-for-1960s-park-slope-plane-crash July 31, 2021 October 3, 2020 Gothamist The collision is covered in "Collision Course," the fifth episode of the first season of The Weather Channel documentary series Why Planes Crash.Sommers Caroline Why Planes Crash April 27, 2013 NBC Peacock Productions The Weather Channel Collision Course https://weloveweather.tv/twc/ TV Documentary June 13, 2020 June 13, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200613201254/https://weloveweather.tv/twc/ dead See also New York City Aviation 1960s 1949 Port Washington mid-air collision – Another mid-air collision over Long island. 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision – Another mid-air collision, also involving United Air Lines aircraft and Trans World Airlines Lockheed Super Constellation References 2 External links Aircraft Accident Report - U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board - Alternate link Pillar of Fire: Recalling the Day the Sky Fell, December 16, 1960 by Nathaniel Altman, from the Park Slope Reader Accident description TWA Super Constellation L-1049 N6907C Accident description United Airlines DC-8-11 N8013U Pre-crash photo of N6907C Death in the Air, Time, December 26, 1960. Newsreel film footage of crash Nelson, Libby. "The Boy Who Survived a 1960 Midair Crash" (Archive). The New York Times. June 30, 2009. "127 die as 2 airliners collide over the city; jet sets Brooklyn fire, killing 5 others; the second plane crashes on Staten Island" (Archive). The New York Times. Vol CX. No. 37,583. Saturday December 17, 1960. Park Slope Plane Crash, City Room (The New York Times local news blog), Sunday, December 12–Thursday, December 16, 2010 – A series of articles about the aviation disaster. CNN photo gallery of the crash Deadly Brooklyn Plane Crash, 1960 – slideshow by Life magazine Pillar of Fire – Interview with Dorothy M. Fletcher by Nathaniel Altman Fate or fluke? Air crash sole survivors by Barry Neild for CNN Jamieson The Day the Boy Fell From the Sky Wendell https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/24/nyregion/the-day-the-boy-fell-from-the-sky.html The New York Times March 24, 2002 http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/park-slope-plane-crash/ Park Slope Plane Crash The New York Times December 16, 2010 December 17, 2010 "1960 New York City plane crash: A look back". – slideshow by New York Daily News New York mid-air collision Category:1960s in Brooklyn New York mid-air collision Category:Mid-air collisions involving airliners Category:Mid-air collisions in the United States Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Category:Airliner accidents and incidents in New York City Category:Aviation accidents and incidents on Long Island Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-8 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed Constellation Category:Trans World Airlines accidents and incidents New York mid-air collision Category:Park Slope Category:History of Staten Island New York mid-air collision