Grand Canyon 1956 Aircraft Accident - Grand Canyon, Arizona
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Max and 99
N 36° 03.255 W 112° 07.489
12S E 398690 N 3990550
Memorial marker at Grand Canyon's Pioneer Cemetery honoring victims of the 1956 mid-air collision between United Airlines Flight 718 and Trans World Airlines Flight 2
Waymark Code: WM98BT
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 07/12/2010
Views: 24
The 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision occurred on Saturday June 30, 1956 at 10:30 AM local time when a United Airlines passenger airliner struck a Trans World Airlines (TWA) airliner over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, resulting in the crash of both planes and 128 fatalities. It was, at the time, the deadliest aviation disaster in history, and would be a catalyst for sweeping changes in the regulation of flight operations over the United States.
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Owing to the exceptional severity of the ground impacts, no bodies were recovered intact, and positive identification of most of the remains was not possible. On July 9, 1956, a mass funeral for the victims of TWA Flight 2 was held at the canyon's south rim. Twenty-nine unidentified victims of the United flight were interred in four coffins at the Grand Canyon Cemetery. A number of years elapsed following this accident before most of the wreckage was removed from the canyon. Some pieces remain and are a grim reminder of the tragedy to anyone who hikes near the crash sites.
(source: Wikipedia)
Text on marker:
In memory of these persons who lost their lives in the aircraft accident at Grand Canyon, Arizona
June 30, 1956
John A. Barry, Lt. Col. C.E. A.U.S.
Phyllis G. Berman
Frank C. Caple
M. Barry Carlton
Carol Jean Church
Frank H. Clark
L. David Cook, Jr.
Elizabeth Crider
Jeffrey Crider
Elizabeth Frances Doering
Girardo Fiore
Lillian Ruth Hahn
Robert W. Harms
Russell Charles Huber
Francis Robert Johlie II
Nancy Lou Kemnitz
Dee D. Kovack
Sally Lou Laughlin
Joseph M. Levis, Jr. Lt. U.S.
Theodore Henry Lym..
John J. Muldoon
Gerald Murchison
Floyd A. Nixon
John George Reba
Carl J. Snyder
Thomas J. Sulpizio
Albert Vogt
Stanley Jerome Weiss
Albert E. Widdifield
Roberta E. Wilde
Donald L. Winings
Disaster Date: 06/30/1956
Memorial Sponsors: Unknown
Parking Coordinates: N 36° 03.237 W 112° 07.477
Disaster Type: Technological
Relevant Website: [Web Link]
Date of dedication: Not listed
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