United Air Lines flight 23
| United Air Lines flight 23 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) An identical aircraft from the company |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Bomb attack |
| place | Chesterton, Indiana |
| date | October 10, 1933 |
| Fatalities | 7th |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 247D |
| operator | United Air Lines |
| Mark | NC13304 |
| Departure airport | Cleveland |
| Destination airport | Chicago |
| Passengers | 4th |
| crew | 3 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
On October 10, 1933, a Boeing 247 crashed in a bomb explosion on United Air Lines Flight 23 . The machine hit near the town of Chesterton, Indiana . All seven inmates were killed in the attack.
Flight history
The United Air Lines Boeing 247 ( registration number : NC13304) was to operate a transcontinental scheduled flight from Newark (New Jersey) to Oakland ( California ), which was completed as planned with several stopovers. The crash occurred on the Cleveland to Chicago leg . At this stage, in addition to the three crew members, there were only four passengers on board, including a company radio technician. The plane was scheduled to land in Chicago at 8:55 p.m. local time, but was delayed by 15 minutes due to strong headwinds. The crew reported to air traffic control for the last time at 20:39 hrs . At that time, the machine was at an altitude of 460 meters (1500 feet ). Another report from the pilots was expected at 8:59 p.m., but did not materialize.
According to the investigators, an explosive device consisting of nitroglycerin or gunpowder caused the machine to crash. This had been placed in the rear section of the cabin, either in the on-board toilet there or in the adjoining luggage compartment. The explosion separated the stern including the tail unit from the fuselage and tore two passengers from the machine. The plane hit about eight kilometers (five miles ) southeast of the town of Chesterton , Indiana . The stern was discovered around 800 meters away from the main wreck. The fuselage sheets had been torn along the break edge by the detonation and bent outwards. Various pieces of metal were stuck in the wooden interior lining of the stern. Investigators found small debris within 1.6 kilometers of the impact crater, including some metal bolts that were probably not from the aircraft, but rather from the explosive device.
A gas explosion in one of the wing tanks or a defective fuel line could be clearly ruled out as a possible cause of the accident. Several people on the ground had heard the explosion and watched the crash. They also stated that the plane did not burn before impact.
Despite several years of investigation by the FBI , the background to the crime remained unclear, and neither a suspect nor the perpetrator (s) could be identified. The original assumption that one of the inmates detonated the bomb with suicidal intent was ruled out after extensive investigations into the private sphere of the people. The press of the time put forward various theories about the motivation of the perpetrators and the course of the attack, none of which could be proven.
See also
Web links
- Copy of the official FBI investigation file, published by NBC Chicago now on archive.org Part 1 , Part 2 (in English)
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d Federal Bureau of Investigation, Aircraft Accident Report , accessed August 15, 2017
- ↑ Historic Wings, An Act of Air Sabotage, October 10, 2012 , accessed August 15, 2017
- ↑ Chicago Magazin, United Flight 23 to Chicago: The First Airline Terrorism ?, September 9, 2011 , accessed August 15, 2017