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Who blew United Airlines Flight 23 out of the sky?

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  • Who blew United Airlines Flight 23 out of the sky?

    Who blew United Airlines Flight 23 out of the sky?

    pic





    In the evening hours of October 10, 1933, United Airlines Flt 23(or Trip 23, as it was called then), a Boeing 247 registered as NC-13304, had 35 minutes left on the Cleveland to Chicago leg of a cross-country flight, when a bomb planted in the toilet closet at the rear of the aircraft blew the tail off the plane, sending it into a death spiral to the ground five miles south of Chesterton, Indiana. Three crew and four passengers died. It was the very first confirmed act of sabotage---what we today would call terrorism--aboard a passenger plane, and the crime remains unsolved. In the 80 years since, not a single credible suspect, or even a motive, has ever been put forth.

    The subsequent investigation by the Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice(the FBI) was hampered by a lack of solid leads. No parts of the bomb, which was probably made of dynamite or nitroglycerin, were discovered. No detonator, no end caps, no clock, no battery, no wires, and no tape or wrapper. The ground crews saw no suspicious persons near the plane while on the ground at the debarkation point of Newark nor in Cleveland. There was nothing in the background of the crew or passengers that might explain it, neither as perpetrators or as targeted victims. The same was true of the passengers who had changed their reservations or had otherwise missed the flight, and also the passengers who flew previous flights on that same aircraft. No person or group ever took responsibility.

    It was thought that labor agitators might have done it, as there was some dissatisfaction amongst the pilots, though that theory was eventually abandoned for lack of evidence. Another rumor popular at the time also pointed to an unnamed 'gangster' that may have used the airline merely to transport the bomb, and had hid the device in the blanket and pillow compartment in the rear of the onboard toilet in case he was searched upon arrival. He then had apparently abandoned it, and it later exploded accidentally when it was nudged by turbulence or by someone jostling it. That theory too had no real evidence to support it.

    The investigation petered out after about six months, and was finally closed in September of 1935. In retrospect, the FBI report, as reflected in the 322 pages released, is woefully incomplete.

    They should have gone over the crash site until they found the remnants of the explosive device, but they did not.

    They should have interviewed every family member, friend, neighbor, and co-worker of the victims, but they stopped after ascertaining that the crewmember/passenger was a 'reputable' person.

    They should have re-interviewed subjects to clear up discrepancies in what they said, but they did not. The fiance of victim Dorothy Dwyer made statements that indicated he had foreknowledge that the cause of the crash was a bomb. He also seemed to have gangster connections. Strangely, there is no evidence that this solid lead was followed up.

    80 years on, the mystery remains.

    In Memoriam:

    Pilot Harold Tarrant, 25
    Co-Pilot A.T. Ruby
    Stewardess Alice Scribner, 26
    Fred Schendorf, 28
    Warren Burris
    Dorothy M. Dwyer, 25
    Emil Smith, 45




    /

  • #2
    Right wing lunatics, perhaps?
    A Former Airdisaster.Com Forum (senior member)....

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    • #3
      With no evidence of a bomb being found could it have been a structural failure? Was any other investigaive body involved other than the FBI?

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      • #4
        In 1933, was anti-aircraft developed enough to "blow a plane out of the sky?"

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Highkeas View Post
          With no evidence of a bomb being found could it have been a structural failure? Was any other investigaive body involved other than the DBI?
          I tend to agree. With no evidence of a bomb, why did they conclude it was a bomb? Who was running this investigation, Northwester?

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          • #6
            Lithium batteries?

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Highkeas View Post
              With no evidence of a bomb being found could it have been a structural failure?
              No, the experts ruled that out. Two eyewitnesses actually saw the explosion and they both thought it was a bomb. Houses nearby shook from the force of the blast(the plane was only at about 1000'). Examination of two passengers thrown free of the wreckage revealed they both had shattered eardrums.

              Quote from the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory of Northwestern University, Chicago, "which laboratory inspected the fragments of the wreckage of this plane":

              "Examination of the evidence leaves no doubt that prior to the crashing of the plane there was a violent explosion in the rear portion of the plane. This explosion was produced by a 'high explosive' of the type of nitroglycerin, dynamite of high percentage strength, TNT, or some similar substance. The explosion occurred either in the upper rear portion of the lavatory compartment or the fore part of the blanket compartment which is built into the rear of the upper lavatory section. The fact that the explosive was the 'high explosive' type rather than the 'low explosive' type is proven from the numerous holes made in Dural structure by flying particles of Dural and by the type of damage done to blankets, clothing and baggage which apparently was located in the rear baggage compartment. These holes were made by projectiles traveling at very high velocity, such as would be propelled by the shattering force of a high explosive, rather than by the slow push of a low explosive. Gasoline-air moistures are definitely of the low explosive type. ..." (pg71 of 160)

              Originally posted by Highkeas View Post
              Was any other investigative body involved other than the FBI?
              The Department of Commerce, Aeronautics Branch, Enforcement Section, also did a report, though they were more focused on a possible structural failure of the aircraft.

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              • #8
                Or perhaps another TWA Super G Constellation was flying in the wrong altitude...just like the accident in the Grand Canyon
                A Former Airdisaster.Com Forum (senior member)....

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                • #9
                  GEORGE W. BUSH.

                  That's the right answer for everything that goes wrong, isn't it?
                  I do work for a domestic US airline, and it should be noted that I do not represent such airline, or any airline. My opinions are mine alone, and aren't reflective of anything but my own knowledge, or what I am trying to learn. At no time will I discuss my specific airline, internal policies, or any such info.

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                  • #10
                    Can anyone say with certainty what city that Boeing 247 is flying over in the picture above?

                    Rick G.

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                    • #11
                      The caption to the photo is:

                      "The ill-fated airliner. Boeing United Air Lines 247 NC13304 as photographed over Chicago’s “A Century of Progress” grounds 1933 shortly before it was blown up over Indiana."

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Rick G View Post
                        Can anyone say with certainty what city that Boeing 247 is flying over in the picture above?

                        Rick G.
                        Looks like what became Meigs Field in Chicago.
                        AD.com apocalypse survivor. 727 Fan.

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                        • #13
                          Here is a good article on the crash, with some interesting period pics, for this, the day of the 80th anniversary:



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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by AVION1 View Post
                            Or perhaps another TWA Super G Constellation was flying in the wrong altitude...just like the accident in the Grand Canyon
                            About 10 years before the first flight of the connie that wouyld be some feat.

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