Background
Flight 2511 departed New York International (Idlewild) Airport at 2334 local time on January 5, operating under an IFR clearance as a nonstop flight to Miami, Florida. The flight proceeded routinely according to its flight plan until shortly after passing Wilmington, North Carolina.
Sequence of Events
At 0231, Flight 2511 contacted the company radio station at Wilmington while over Carolina Beach at an altitude of 18,000 feet, transmitting a routine progress report. Shortly after this radio contact, a dynamite explosion occurred in the passenger cabin. Following the explosion, the aircraft entered a wide descending right turn and crashed 1.5 miles northwest of Bolivia at 0238, approximately 16 miles west of its intended flight path. All 29 passengers and the crew of five were killed.
Investigation
It is believed that Julian Frank was the author of the sabotage after he contracted a life insurance policy for one million US dollars. However, this assumption was not confirmed, as Frank was himself aboard the aircraft when the explosion occurred. The official report states that no reference is made concerning the placing of the dynamite aboard the aircraft or the person or persons responsible for its detonation. The malicious destruction of an aircraft is a federal crime, and after the Board's determination that sabotage was involved, the criminal aspects were referred to the Department of Justice through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Probable Cause
The Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was the detonation of dynamite within the passenger cabin.