The endless mantra from the right wing is that government regulation is always a negative. Yet we just passed the 59th anniversary of a tragic accident that ushered in government controls that made air traffic safer for many millions.
The collision of two airliners above the Grand Canyon in 1956—at the time the deadliest mishap in American aviation, resulting in the loss of 128 passengers and crew—had a profound effect on the aviation industry as well as the U.S. as a whole. As a result, the U.S. invested nearly $250 million in modernizing its air traffic control system, and ultimately established the Federal Aviation Administration to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation.
Thanks to the Civil Aeronautics Board’s accident investigation report, we can piece together how and why TWA Flight 2, a Lockheed Super Constellation, and United Airlines Flight 718, a Douglas DC-7, collided on the morning of June 30, 1956, then crashed deep inside the canyon, a little over a mile apart. The short answer is that both pilots were avoiding a thundercloud—while also trying to give their passengers a good look at one of the most scenic spots on earth. But the collision pointed to a larger problem: outdated equipment coupled with insufficient and piecemeal oversight.