The 1933 crash of a Boeing 247
1933 Mid-Air Explosion on a United Airlines Boeing 247
A United Airlines Boeing 247 was destroyed in the sky above Indiana in October 1933. Seven passengers were on board, and they were all killed in what turned out to be the first instance of aviation terrorism.
Airline 23
On October 10, 1933, late in the afternoon, United Airlines flight 23 departed from Newark, New Jersey, beginning a hop-scotch journey to Oakland, California. When calamity occurred, the aircraft was on its way to Chicago after making a stop in Cleveland.
It was a Boeing 247, frequently referred to as the first aeroplane designed specifically for carrying passengers. It started operating in February 1933. Its greatest speed was 200 mph, and its longest range was 745 miles. The air-conditioned aeroplane had room for ten passengers. Flight 23 had a crew of three and four passengers on the fateful night.
The Flight 23 Investigation
Black boxes, which are actually orange in colour nowadays, which aid investigators in determining the cause of a plane accident, did not exist in 1933. Actually, the FBI and Agent Melvin Purvis in particular were tasked with investigating what occurred because there were no specialised aviation investigators.
Early explanations centred on hot exhaust coming into contact with fuel from a burst line. However, pieces of the wreckage that were examined under a microscope revealed that tiny metal shards had entered them. Metal parts could only be forced through other metal pieces with the help of a strong explosion. The luggage compartment was found to be the explosion's source.
Everything in the front of the compartment was blown forward, everything in the back was blown backward, and everything on the side was blown outward, according to Mel Purvis. The fuel tanks were crushed in rather than blown out, indicating there was no explosion inside of them.
The blast's cause was determined to be nitroglycerine. Flight 23 had been brought down by a time bomb. Who, though, would take such a step?