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Sabotage via probable Nitroglycerin bomb
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Chesterton, Indiana
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7
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0
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Boeing 247
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United Airlines
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NC13304
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4
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3
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0
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A
Boeing 247 operated by
United Airlines and registered as NC13304 crashed near
Chesterton, Indiana , on
October 10 ,
1933 . The flight, carrying three crew and four passengers, originated in
Newark, New Jersey . It had landed in
Cleveland and was headed to
Chicago , but exploded ''en route'' to its final destination of
Oakland, California . All aboard died in the crash.
Eyewitnesses on the ground reported hearing an explosion at about 9:15 p.m., and told of seeing the plane in flames at an altitude of about 1,000 feet. A second explosion followed after the plane crashed.
An investigator from the
Porter County coroner's office and
Northwestern University examined evidence from the crash, and concluded that the crash had been due to a bomb.
Melvin Purvis , head of the United States
Bureau Of Investigation office in Chicago, described the damage: "Our investigation convinced me that the tragedy resulted from an explosion somewhere in the region of the baggage compartment in the rear of the plane. Everything in front of the compartment was blown forward, everything behind blown backward, and things at the side outward.
"The gasoline tanks, instead of being blown out, were crushed in, showing there was no explosion in them." Investigators identified
Nitroglycerin as the probable explosive agent.
Although there was a report that a man was seen carrying a brown package onto the plane in Newark, no suspect has ever been identified or charged in this incident.
This is thought to be the first proven act of air
Sabotage in the history of commercial
Aviation .
One of the air crew killed was the stewardess, Alice Scribner of Chicago. She was the first stewardess to be killed in a plane crash.
- "Seven die as plane crashes in flames". (11 October 1933) ''New York Times'' p. 1
- "Plane crash laid to blast in air". (12 October 1933) ''New York Times'' p. 3
- "Wreck of air liner laid to a bomb". (14 October 1933) ''New York Times'' p. 5
- "Plane wreck laid to nitroglycerine". (15 October 1933) ''New York Times'' p. 31
- "Seek 'bomber' of plane". (16 October 1933) ''New York Times'' p. 7
