Flagstaff grave Flagstaff is known for a number of “firsts” that have affected the country.  It is the first “Dark Night City” in the U.S.  It was the site of the first Forest Experiment Station in the U.S.  Even Bambi was first discovered here as a small orphan fawn adopted by a Flagstaff family.  But another first is the creation of the Federal Aviation Administion.  It wasn’t founded here but resulted from a plane crash that happened near here.

The day was June 30th, 1956.  Two planes – United Flight  718 and TWA Flight 2 — left Los Angeles International Airport within minutes of each other.  Their flight pattern separated and then was scheduled to cross at different altitudes just north of the Grand Canyon over the Painted Desert.  Both planes had experienced crews.  One was scheduled to fly at 21,000 feet while the other’s flight path was to be 19,000 feet.  TWA Flight 2 requested a flight change to 21,000 feet because of cloud cover.  This was denied but he was given permission to fly 1,000 feet above the top of the clouds and was told that there was another plane at 21,000 feet.  The United plane was never informed of the TWA plane.

Neither plane checked in over the Painted Desert and there was no radio contact.  A half-hour later, missing aircraft alerts were issued and a search began.  Pieces of both planes were discovered near the top of two mesas in a rugged part of the Grand Canyon.  There were no survivors.  Human remains were recovered and brought out for burial.

Life MagazineThe following morning, when businesses around the country flipped their calendar from June to July, the featured photo for the month was The Grand Canyon. 

On July 9, the remains of those aboard the TWA flight were buried in a mass grave at the Flagstaff Citizen’s Cemetery.  The passengers aboard the United flight, whose bodies could not be identified, were buried in three coffins at the Grand Canyon. 

It was later determined that the wing of one plane had sheared off the tail of the other.  Congress immediately opened an investigation and the end result of the formation of the FAA.

This is just a very brief overview of what was to be called “the greatest air tragedy in history” for a number of years.  If the story interests you, there is more detailed information at http://doney.net/aroundaz/grandcanyoncrash.htm