Tragedy Remembered

Tragedy Remembered (HM2C91)

Location: Grand Canyon Village, AZ 86023 Coconino County
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Country: United States of America
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N 36° 2.654', W 111° 49.56'

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Grand Canyon

Catastrophe can happen even in spectacular beauty. When technological achievements and human actions fail, disasters may happen.

On June 30, 1956, a United Airlines DC-7 and a TWA Super Constellation maneuvered around towering cumulus clouds on a partly clear day. All 128 passengers and crew perished when the planes collided at an altitude of 21,000 feet (6,400 m) above Temple and Chuar buttes. Passengers included prominent business people and families. Every passenger had loved ones waiting for them, though their journey ended unexpectedly.

The Grand Canyon disaster "rocked the aviation world." It was the deadliest crash in American commercial aviation history at the time. Within a few years, the United States Congress created the Federal Aviation Administration to increase air safety.

Due to its importance in aviation history, this hallowed ground is a National Historic Landmark. This designation protects artifacts remaining in this remote area of the canyon and provides learning opportunities about the events of that day and beyond.

(caption)
Grand Canyon's Pioneer Cemetery (L) is the final resting place for 29 unidentified passengers from United Airlines. Recovery personnel removed the remains of 70 accident victims from the TWA flight, and all but three were interred in a mass



grave at Flagstaff Citizens Cemetery (R). 29 identified passengers were returned home for burial.

Reminders of that tragic day.
Details
HM NumberHM2C91
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Placed ByNational Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, October 14th, 2018 at 2:04pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)12S E 425595 N 3989170
Decimal Degrees36.04423333, -111.82600000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 36° 2.654', W 111° 49.56'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds36° 2' 39.24" N, 111° 49' 33.6" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)928
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling West
Closest Postal AddressAt or near Unnamed Road, Grand Canyon Village AZ 86023, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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