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 Braniff International Flight 352
N 31° 54.130 W 096° 41.908
14R E 717648 N 3531901
Texas Historical Marker at the site of the 1968 crash of Braniff International Flight 352, providing some background about the flight, what went wrong, how it was mishandled, and what we learned from it.
Waymark Code: WM1815D
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/07/2023
Views: 9
The historical marker is northeast of Dawson, about a quarter mile northeast of NW County Rd 3170 on the south side of FM 709. Please respect the privacy and property of the land owner, as there's nothing to see here pertaining to the crash besides the marker.
The Marker Dedication ceremony was held April 29, 2023.
Interestingly, if you drive about 35 minutes northeast to Kerens on the other side of the county, pieces of the Space Shuttle Columbia landed in that area when the craft disintegrated during its landing in 2003.
Marker Number: 22514
Marker Text:
The tragic crash of Braniff International Flight 352 traveling from Houston's Hobby Airport to Dallas' Love Field in 1968 left a lasting influence on Braniff, the citizens of Dawson and the aviation industry. Flight 352 originated at Houston with a final destination of Memphis, Tennessee, with intermediate stops scheduled in Dallas, Tulsa, Fort Smith and Little Rock. The four-engine propjet-powered Lockheed L-188 Electra II airliner departed Houston on May 3, 1968, at 4:11 P.M. for the flight to Dallas. Twenty-three minutes into the flight, the aircraft approached an area of developing and intensifying thunderstorms.
Attempting to bypass the storm, the crew decided to descend and deviate to the west, despite being notified that other flights were deviating east. At 4:47 P.M., Flight 352 encountered severe weather, including hail, and began to make a 180 degree turn. At that time, the plane began to roll with the nose pitched down. A roll recovery maneuver was initiated but the right wing failed, then the tail section, causing the plane to break in half. At 4:51 P.M., Fort Worth Air Traffic Control reported the plane missing from radar.
The citizens of Dawson were first on the scene to offer assistance. Many witnessed the horrific event that claimed the lives of 80 passengers and five crew members. On June 19, 1969, the National Transportation Safety Board issued the official accident report which determined that passage into a known area of severe weather was the cause. The crash and investigation led to an update of safety and training programs and operational procedures, as well as new federal regulations to address how pilots use radar to avoid storms, all making air travel safer. (2019)
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.
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