| - | ACCIDENT DETAILS |
| Date: | January 31, 1957 |
| Time: | 11:18 |
| Location: | Near Sunland, California |
| Operator: | Douglas Aircraft |
| Flight #: | ? |
| Route: | Santa Monica - Santa Monica |
| AC Type: | Douglas DC-7B / U.S. Air Force F-89J |
| Registration: | N8210H/52-187OA |
| cn / ln: | 45192 / 4447 |
| Aboard: | 6 (passengers:0 crew:6) |
| Fatalities: | 5 (passengers:0 crew:5) |
| Ground: | 3 |
| Summary: | Midair collision between a DC-7 and F-89J Air Force fighter. The DC-7 crashed into a playground of a school killing 3 junior high school children 3 miles northwest of Sunland. The F-89 crashed into the mountains. Four crew members on the DC-7 were killed. One crew member aboard the F-89 was killed and the other ejected to safety. The high rate of near head-on closure at high altitude, which together with physiological limitations, resulted in a minimum avoidance opportunity during which the pilots didn't see each other's aircraft. It was the first test flight of the DC-7B. One of the 3 students killed in the accident was the best friend of singer Richie Valens, who died in an airplane crash two years later. Archie Twitchell, test pilot and actor, 50, killed. |
Sources
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