In 1947, a United Airlines DC-6 crashed just one mile from the Bryce Canyon Airport right into Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. This horrific crash is one that will never be forgotten.
On October 24, 1947, United Airlines Flight 608 departed from Los Angeles on its way to Chicago.
nrg_crisis (on and off)/flickr The plane carried 47 passengers and 5 crew members. High above Bryce Canyon National Park, the flight ran into trouble.
At 12:21 pm, the pilot radioed that there was a fire in the baggage area and that the cabin was filling with smoke.
brewbooks/flickr The pilot, Capt. Everett L. McMillen, had 18 years of experience flying experience. He requested permission to land at Bryce Canyon Airport and began to descend.
As the plane descended, it began to break apart. The right wing came apart, and an emergency flare on the wing caught on fire.
brewbooks/flickr Capt. McMillen told the control tower, “We may make it - approaching the strip.”
Witnesses later reported that the plane was about 1,500 yards from the runway, and coming in fast, when it was caught in a gust of canyon wind.
brewbooks/flickr The wind pulled the plane down, and it lost control and crashed. All 52 people on board were killed. At the time, this crash was the second-deadliest in U.S. history (the deadliest crash had only one more fatality).
The burning wreckage scorched an 80-foot area of land about a mile from the airport.
James Marvin Phelps/flickr The engines were found hundreds of feet from the plane and parts of the planes were scattered. The wreckage of the plane was collected and taken to Douglas Aircraft Company in California.
For the first time ever, plane wreckage was reassembled so that investigators could determine the cause of the fire.
EditorASC/Wikimedia Though that’s standard practice for every plane crash now, in 1947 it was unheard of. Investigators concluded that the fire had started because a cabin heater intake scoop was placed too close to a fuel tank vent. When the fuel tank was overfilled, the heater ignited fumes from the vent. Just a month after the Bryce Canyon crash, another DC-6 airliner made an emergency landing in New Mexico. Luckily, all 25 passengers were pulled from the burning plane alive. Following this near-miss, all Douglas DC planes were recalled and redesigned.
If you enjoy learning about the darker side of Utah’s history, take a look at the 12 worst disasters that ever happened in this beautiful state.
nrg_crisis (on and off)/flickr
The plane carried 47 passengers and 5 crew members. High above Bryce Canyon National Park, the flight ran into trouble.
brewbooks/flickr
The pilot, Capt. Everett L. McMillen, had 18 years of experience flying experience. He requested permission to land at Bryce Canyon Airport and began to descend.
Capt. McMillen told the control tower, “We may make it - approaching the strip.”
The wind pulled the plane down, and it lost control and crashed. All 52 people on board were killed. At the time, this crash was the second-deadliest in U.S. history (the deadliest crash had only one more fatality).
James Marvin Phelps/flickr
The engines were found hundreds of feet from the plane and parts of the planes were scattered. The wreckage of the plane was collected and taken to Douglas Aircraft Company in California.
EditorASC/Wikimedia
Though that’s standard practice for every plane crash now, in 1947 it was unheard of. Investigators concluded that the fire had started because a cabin heater intake scoop was placed too close to a fuel tank vent. When the fuel tank was overfilled, the heater ignited fumes from the vent. Just a month after the Bryce Canyon crash, another DC-6 airliner made an emergency landing in New Mexico. Luckily, all 25 passengers were pulled from the burning plane alive. Following this near-miss, all Douglas DC planes were recalled and redesigned.
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Address: Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA
The OIYS Visitor Center
National Parks to Visit in Utah February 17, 2022 Tori Jane What kind of natural disasters in Utah are there? Thanks to seismic activity, Utah is a fairly disaster-prone state. It’s “overdue”, geologically speaking, for another earthquake event at any time. A large fault runs through Utah – though Utah County specifically. It runs from Malad City, Idaho, to Fayette, Utah, and is the likeliest culprit for a future earthquake disaster. Another common natural disaster in this state is wildfires, which threaten most of the west now due to extended drought, climate change, and other factors. From time to time, Utah will see a tornado or two, like the infamous Salt Lake City tornado in the 1990s. Other potential disasters include flooding and, as a result of flooding, landslides. In 1983, for example, the entire town of Thistle, Utah, was eaten by a landslide! Thankfully, natural disasters in Utah are fairly rare and don’t happen often at all. They don’t tend to be at the forefront of residents’ worries. Here are some examples of disasters throughout Utah’s history. Has there ever been any disasters at any of our National Parks? Thankfully, there have been very few disasters at our National Parks, though the risk for death in many of our National Parks tends to be higher than in most places thanks to uniquely dangerous landscapes in places. There was the great fire in 1947 that ravaged Acadia National Park, but few other specific “disasters” to speak of thus far (thankfully). Death is no stranger to the National Parks system, though; Grand Canyon National Park has seen at least 134 deaths in the last ten years, 27 of which were the result of falls – more still were the results of exposure and/or heat. In Yosemite National Park, there have been 126 deaths in the last decade, 45 of which were falls mostly from folks trying to get the perfect picture (PLEASE be careful – Instagram is not worth dying for). Finally, Great Smoky Mountains National Park saw at least 92 deaths in the last decade, but 37 of those were from vehicular accidents instead of anything that happened in natural settings.
The OIYS Visitor Center
National Parks to Visit in Utah
February 17, 2022
Tori Jane
What kind of natural disasters in Utah are there? Thanks to seismic activity, Utah is a fairly disaster-prone state. It’s “overdue”, geologically speaking, for another earthquake event at any time. A large fault runs through Utah – though Utah County specifically. It runs from Malad City, Idaho, to Fayette, Utah, and is the likeliest culprit for a future earthquake disaster. Another common natural disaster in this state is wildfires, which threaten most of the west now due to extended drought, climate change, and other factors. From time to time, Utah will see a tornado or two, like the infamous Salt Lake City tornado in the 1990s. Other potential disasters include flooding and, as a result of flooding, landslides. In 1983, for example, the entire town of Thistle, Utah, was eaten by a landslide! Thankfully, natural disasters in Utah are fairly rare and don’t happen often at all. They don’t tend to be at the forefront of residents’ worries. Here are some examples of disasters throughout Utah’s history. Has there ever been any disasters at any of our National Parks? Thankfully, there have been very few disasters at our National Parks, though the risk for death in many of our National Parks tends to be higher than in most places thanks to uniquely dangerous landscapes in places. There was the great fire in 1947 that ravaged Acadia National Park, but few other specific “disasters” to speak of thus far (thankfully). Death is no stranger to the National Parks system, though; Grand Canyon National Park has seen at least 134 deaths in the last ten years, 27 of which were the result of falls – more still were the results of exposure and/or heat. In Yosemite National Park, there have been 126 deaths in the last decade, 45 of which were falls mostly from folks trying to get the perfect picture (PLEASE be careful – Instagram is not worth dying for). Finally, Great Smoky Mountains National Park saw at least 92 deaths in the last decade, but 37 of those were from vehicular accidents instead of anything that happened in natural settings.
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
Thanks to seismic activity, Utah is a fairly disaster-prone state. It’s “overdue”, geologically speaking, for another earthquake event at any time. A large fault runs through Utah – though Utah County specifically. It runs from Malad City, Idaho, to Fayette, Utah, and is the likeliest culprit for a future earthquake disaster. Another common natural disaster in this state is wildfires, which threaten most of the west now due to extended drought, climate change, and other factors. From time to time, Utah will see a tornado or two, like the infamous Salt Lake City tornado in the 1990s. Other potential disasters include flooding and, as a result of flooding, landslides. In 1983, for example, the entire town of Thistle, Utah, was eaten by a landslide! Thankfully, natural disasters in Utah are fairly rare and don’t happen often at all. They don’t tend to be at the forefront of residents’ worries. Here are some examples of disasters throughout Utah’s history.
Has there ever been any disasters at any of our National Parks?
Thankfully, there have been very few disasters at our National Parks, though the risk for death in many of our National Parks tends to be higher than in most places thanks to uniquely dangerous landscapes in places. There was the great fire in 1947 that ravaged Acadia National Park, but few other specific “disasters” to speak of thus far (thankfully). Death is no stranger to the National Parks system, though; Grand Canyon National Park has seen at least 134 deaths in the last ten years, 27 of which were the result of falls – more still were the results of exposure and/or heat. In Yosemite National Park, there have been 126 deaths in the last decade, 45 of which were falls mostly from folks trying to get the perfect picture (PLEASE be careful – Instagram is not worth dying for). Finally, Great Smoky Mountains National Park saw at least 92 deaths in the last decade, but 37 of those were from vehicular accidents instead of anything that happened in natural settings.
