The Crash Heard Round the World

In the wake of the recent crash of Air France Flight 447, there’s an unfortunate resonance to author Dan Driskill’s upcoming presentation about the 1956 collision of two passenger planes in Northern Arizona. The event has become known among air crash aficionados (yes, they exist) as the Grand Canyon Air Disaster, because the accident took place over the Canyon, where debris from the wreckage still rests.

At the time, the crash was the world’s worst commercial aviation disaster. One hundred and twenty eight people died when TWA Flight 2 and United Flight 718 collided in midair, a tragedy that led to the creation of the Federal Aviation Association and the modern air traffic control system. More than a half century later, questions about the crash remain unanswered.

Driskill, who’s writing a book on the subject, will address these and other points of this horrific story during the “The 1956 Grand Canyon Air Disaster: The Legends, Legacies and Mysteries of TWA Flight 2 and United Flight 718” lecture.