United Airlines Flight 608
A DC-6 similar to UAL's ill-fated Flight 608
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 24, 1947 |
| Summary | In-flight fire |
| Site | near Bryce Canyon Airport, Garfield County, Utah, USA |
| Passengers | 47 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 52 (all) |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-6 |
| Operator | United Airlines |
| Registration | NC37510 |
| Flight origin | Los Angeles International Airport |
| Destination | Chicago Midway Airport |
Coordinates: 37°41′06″N 112°08′12″W / 37.685037°N 112.136616°W
United Airlines Flight 608 was a Douglas DC-6 airliner, registration NC37510, on a scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles to Chicago when it crashed at 12:29 pm on October 24, 1947 about 1.5 miles southeast of Bryce Canyon Airport, Utah. There were no survivors among the 5 crew members and 47 passengers on board. It was the first crash of a DC-6, and at the time it was the second deadliest air crash in the United States, surpassed by Eastern Air Lines Flight 605 by only one fatality.
United Flight 608 departed from Los Angeles, California, at 10:23 a.m. on a routine flight to Chicago, Illinois. At 12:21 p.m. the plane's pilot, Capt. Everett L. McMillen, radioed that there was a fire in the baggage compartment which they could not control, with smoke entering the passenger cabin. The flight requested an emergency clearance to Bryce Canyon Airport, Utah, which was granted.
As the aircraft descended, pieces of the plane, including portions of the right wing, started to fall off and one of the emergency flares on the wing ignited. At 12:27 p.m., the last radio transmission was heard from the plane: "We may make it - approaching a strip." Accounts from observers state the plane passed over the canyon mesa, approximately 1500 yards from the airstrip. With gusts from the canyon floor pulling down the side of the mesa, the crippled aircraft, only 10 feet off the ground, was pulled out of control and crashed.
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