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United Air Lines Flight 521
Air accident on May 29, 1947 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United Air Lines Flight 521 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by a Douglas DC-4 from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Cleveland, Ohio. On May 29, 1947, while attempting to take off on runway 18, the aircraft failed to get airborne, overran the end of the runway, ripped through an airport fence onto traffic on the Grand Central Parkway, and slammed into an embankment, ultimately plunging into a pond and exploding. Ten people escaped the flaming wreckage; only five of them survived.[1]
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Quick Facts Accident, Date ...
![]() Wreckage of NC30046 | |
Accident | |
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Date | May 29, 1947 |
Summary | Pilot error |
Site | LaGuardia Airport, New York City, United States 40.7683°N 73.8847°W / 40.7683; -73.8847 |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Douglas DC-4 |
Aircraft name | Mainliner Lake Tahoe |
Operator | United Airlines |
Registration | NC30046 |
Flight origin | LaGuardia Airport, New York |
Destination | Cleveland Municipal Airport, Cleveland, Ohio |
Occupants | 48 |
Passengers | 44 |
Crew | 4 |
Fatalities | 43 |
Injuries | 5 |
Survivors | 5 |
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It was the worst commercial aviation disaster in United States history at the time. Its record stood for less than 24 hours before an Eastern Airlines DC-4 crashed near Baltimore, Maryland, killing all 53 aboard.[1]