Douglas DC-7

United Airlines Flight 736 departed Los Angeles International Airport at 0737 hours Pacific standard time with 42 passengers and 5 crew aboard. It was a scheduled passenger flight to New York, which was proceeding normally in accordance with an IFR flight plan along Victor Airway 16 to Ontario, California, and Victor Airway 8 to Denver. The aircraft was cleared to a cruising altitude of 21 000 ft msl and advised to climb in VFR weather conditions. At 0735 the flight reported to Aeronautical Radio that it was over Ontario at 12 000 ft and was climbing in VFR conditions. Then at 081 1 it reported over Daggett at its cruising altitude of 21 000 ft and estimated that it would reach Las Vegas (omni range station) at 0831, This was the last position report made by the flight. At approximately 0745 hours that morning F-100F, 56-3755, took off from Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada on an instrument training flight carrying an instructor and a trainee pilot. The flight was in accordance with a VFR local flight plan filed with Nellis Operations and the local traffic control tower. At approximately 0823, 755 called Nellis VFR Control and reported that it was "inbound on KRAM" ( a local commercial radio broadcast station). The flight requested an altitude assignment from which it would conduct a simulated ADF instrument jet penetration utilizing KRAM. The VFR controller assigned 755, 28 000 ft and advised it to report over the radio station. At approximately 0828, the flight reported that it was over KRAM requesting a penetration. The VFR controller cleared it for an immediate penetration and requested that it report the penetration turn. 755 then reported leaving 28 000 ft. There were no &her reports from the flight in connection with this procedure. At 0830 the offices of Aeronautical Radio at Los Angeles, Denver and Salt Lake City heard an emergency message from the United flight.. . . . " United 736, Mayday, midair collision, over Las Vegas. " At the same time, as nearly as can be determined, there was an unrecorded emergency transmission from the F-1 00F. This message was heard by the VFR controller and by the two pilots of another F-100F. All were agreed that the first portion of the emergency transmission was "Mayday, Mayday, this is 755. " The last part of the message was either, "We've had a flameout" or 'We're bailing out." The aircraft collided at 21 000 ft over a position later determined to be about 9 miles southwest of the Las Vegas VOR station, on Victor Airway 8, approximately 1-3/4 miles to the right (southeast) of the centerline. Both aircraft fell out of control and crashed killing the 47 persons on board the DC-7 and both pilots of the F-100F.

Braniff International Flight 971 was originally scheduled to depart New York, New York, for Miami, Florida, on March 23, 1958, at 2355 but this leg of the flight was not made owing to shortage of equipment and scheduling difficulties on that date. N 5904 was ferried from Dallas, Texas, to Miami, arriving at 1915 on March 24 for use as Flight 971. The aircraft was serviced and made reedy for the trip to Panama City, Panama, the first scheduled stop on the route to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The crew consisted of Captain Thomas D. George, First Officer John C. Winthrop, Jr., Second Officer Charles F. Fink, Steward Alberto Zapatero, and Stewardess Madelon Campion. The flight departed the Miami terminal at 2356, taxied to runway 27R where engine runup was made, after which a normal takeoff was accomplished. Shortly after takeoff, and in accordance with tower clearance, a climbing right turn was started. During the turn the No. 3 engine malfunctioned and a fire developed in that area. The airplane, still in a right turn, started to lose altitude rapidly. While traveling in a north-northeasterly direction it struck in an open marsh containing scattered trees and underbrush. Rescue operations were immediately initiated but were seriously hampered by heavy ground traffic of sightseers attracted to the area. Several of the passengers and crew members were airlifted by U. S. Coast Guard helicopters direct to hospital grounds in Miami and the others were removed to nearby ambulances and taken to hospitals.

Crashed in unknown circumstances at Long Beach Airport while performing a test flight prior to its delivery to Eastern Airlines. There were no casualties.

Following an uneventful training flight, the DC-7 landed at Miami-Intl Airport, exit via a taxiway and was taxiing to the maintenance hangar when control was lost. It collided with a parked Eastern Airlines Super Constellation registered N6212C. On impact, both aircraft caught fire and the crew was able to evacuate the DC-7 before both aircraft would be destroyed by fire. The exact circumstances and causes of the collision remains unclear.

On January 31, at 1015, N8210H took off tram runway 03 of the Santa Monica, California, Airport. The aircraft was a new DC-7B being flown for the first time for the purpose of functionally checking the aircraft and its components in flight following production. The flight crew were Douglas Aircraft employees consisting of Pilot William G. Carr; Copilot Archie R. Twitchell; Flight Engineer Waldo B. Adams; and Radio Operator Roy Nakazawa. The aircraft had been subject to many regular inspections during its manufacture and numerous inspections which were required after production preceding the first flight. Accordingly, it was presumed the DC-7B was in airworthy condition. Preparations for the flight by its crew were routine, Departure was on a local VFR flight plan filed with the operations office of the company. The plan showed six hours of fuel aboard end that the flight duration wee estimated as 2 hours 15 minutes. It also showed the gross takeoff night of N8210H was 88,000, pounds, well under the maximum allowable. The load was properly distributed with respect to center of gravity limitations. According to routine procedure the flight switched to the Douglas company radio frequency after takeoff and made periodic progress reports. At 1030 the crew reported over the Catalina intersection, 9,000 feet, routine, and thereafter, at 1106, over Ontario, 25,000 feet, routine. At 1050 that morning, the Northrop operated F-89J, 52-1870, took off from runway 25 of the Palmdale, California, Airport, accompanied by another F-89J, 53-25 6A. The flight of 52-1870 was one of a series of functional flight checks following the completion of IRAN (inspection and repair as necessary), an overhaul project performed under contract by Northrop Aircraft for the United States Air Force. The specific flight was in accordance with provisions of the contract and its purpose was to check the radar fire control systems of both of the all-weather interceptors. The two-member flight crew of 52-1870 consisted of Pilot Roland E. Owen and Radar Operator Curtiss A. Adams, both employees of Northrop. Preparations for the operation were routine and departure was in accordance with a local VFR flight plan filed with the flight department of the company. The plan indicated the estimated duration of the operation as one hour with sufficient fuel aboard for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, considering afterburner time, altitude, and power settings for the mission. The F-89's took off individually, using afterburners, with a separation interval, of 20 seconds. In a wide starboard orbit the pilots utilized radar in a “snake climb” to 25,000 feet. At that altitude, a predetermined scissoring flight pattern was utilized which positioned the F-89's, without ground radar control, for simulated all-weather interceptor attacks on each other, during which the operation of airborne radar equipment could be checked. Radio transmissions, on company frequency, were recorded by ground facilities. These were routine commands between the pilots as they executed the radar check pattern and intercepts. At 1118 activity in the Douglas radio roan was interrupted by an emergency transmission from N 8210H. The voices were recognized by radio personnel familiar with the crew members. Pilot Cart first transmitted, “Uncontrollable," Copilot Twitchell then said, “We‘re a midair collision - midair collision, 10 How (aircraft identification using phonetic How for H) we are going in-uncontrollable - uncontrollable - we are . . . we've had it boy - poor jet too - told you we should take chutes - say goodbye to everybody.” Radio Operator Nakazawa’s voice was recognized and he concluded the tragic message with, "We are spinning In the valley.” This final transmission from the flight is presented because it contained important information relative to the accident investigation. It not only establishes the midair collision but also indicates the DC-7 was rendered uncontrollable. It further indicates that Mr. Twitchell at least recognized the aircraft with which they collided as a jet. Further, the DC-7 spun during its descent to the ground. All four crew members on board the DC-7 were killed plus three people on the ground. Seventy others have been injured. Weather conditions in the area at the time of the accident were reported by the Weather Bureau as clear, visibility 50 miles. Winds aloft at 25,000 were approximately 30 knots from 320 degrees.

United Air Lines Flight 718 was regularly scheduled from Los Angeles to Chicago, Illinois. On June 30, 1956, it took off from runway 25L (left) of the Los Angeles International Airport at 0904 (three minutes after TWA 2). Flight 718 was on an IFR flight plan to Chicago via Green Airway 5 Palm Springs inter-section, direct Needles, direct Painted Desert, direct Durango, direct Pueblo, direct St. Joseph. Victor Airway 116 Joliet, Victor Airway 84 Chicago Midway Airport. The flight plan proposed a .JPG"> airspeed of 288 knots., a cruising altitude of 21,000 feet, and a departure time of 0845. The flight crew consisted of Captain Robert F. Shirley, First Officer Robert W. Harms, Flight Engineer Gerard Flore, and Stewardesses Nancy L. Kemnitz and Margaret A. Shoudt. Flight preparations and dispatch of United 718 were routine and the aircraft departed with 3,850 gallons of fuel. The company load manifest showed the gross weight of the aircraft at takeoff to be 105,835 pounds, which was less than the maximum allowable of 114,060 pounds; the latter weight was restricted from a maximum of 122,200 pounds for the aircraft because of a landing limitation at Chicago. The load was properly distributed with respect to the center of gravity limitations of the aircraft. After takeoff the flight contacted the Los Angeles tower radar controller, who vectored it through the overcast over the same departure course as TWA 2. United 718 reported "on top" and changed to Los Angeles Center frequency for its en route clearance. This corresponded to the flight plan as filed; however, the controller specified that the climb to assigned altitude be in VER conditions. Flight 718 made position reports to Aeronautical Radio, Inc., which serves under contract as United company radio. It reported passing over Riverside and later over Palm Springs intersection. The latter report indicated that United 718 was still climbing to 21,000 and estimated it would reach Needles at 1000 and the Painted Desert at 1034. At approximately 0958 United 718 made a position report to the CAA communications station located at Needles. This report stated that the flight was over Needles at 0958, at 21,000 feet, and estimated the Painted Desert at 1031, with Durango next. At 1031 an unidentified radio transmission was heard by Aeronautical Radio communicators at Salt Lake City and San Francisco. They were not able to understand the message when it was received but it was later determined by playing back the recorded transmission that the message was from United 718. Context was interpreted as: "Salt Lake, United 718 . . . ah . . . we're going in."