Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501
A DC-4 similar to the accident aircraft
Occurrence
DateJune 23, 1950 (1950-06-23)
SummaryUnexplained disappearance
SiteLake Michigan
42°22′N 86°37′W / 42.367°N 86.617°W / 42.367; -86.617
Aircraft
Aircraft typeDouglas DC-4 (former C-54)
OperatorNorthwest Orient Airlines
RegistrationN95425[1] (formerly 42-72165)
Flight originLaGuardia Airport
New York City, New York
1st stopoverMinneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota
2nd stopoverSpokane, Washington
DestinationSeattle, Washington
Occupants58
Passengers55
Crew3
Fatalities58 (all presumed; only body fragments found)
Survivors0

Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 was a DC-4 operating its daily transcontinental service between New York City and Seattle when it disappeared on the night of June 23, 1950. The flight was carrying 55 passengers and three crew members; the loss of all 58 aboard made it the deadliest commercial airliner accident in America at the time.[2]

The aircraft was at approximately 3,500 feet (1,100 meters) over Lake Michigan, 18 miles (29 kilometers) NNW of Benton Harbor, Michigan,[3] when flight controllers lost radio contact with it soon after the pilot had requested a descent to 2,500 feet (760 meters). Witnesses reported hearing engine sputtering noises and a flash of light after the last radio transmission.[4] A widespread search was commenced including using sonar and dragging the bottom of Lake Michigan with trawlers, but to no avail. Considerable light debris, upholstery, and human body fragments were found floating on the surface, but divers were unable to locate the plane's wreckage.[5]

  1. ^ "FAA Registry (N95425)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  2. ^ "58 FEARED LOST IN CRASH OF AIRLINER IN LAKE MICHIGAN; HUNT PROVES FUTILE; MANY FROM NEW YORK AREA ARE ABOARD; OIL SLICKS SIGHTED Plane from New York Runs Into Storm While on Trip to the West DIVER SEARCHES IN VAIN Report of 'Wreckage' Untrue --Loss May Be the Worst on Commercial Airlines". The New York Times. June 25, 1950. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2008-01-27
  4. ^ Michigan Shipwrecks website
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference MSRA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).