What happened
On December 16, 1960, at approximately 10:33 E.S.T., a mid-air collision occurred between two airliners operating under Instrument Flight Rules near the Preston Intersection. The first aircraft, a Trans World Airlines Model 1-049A Constellation, registration N1049A, was traveling from Dayton, Ohio, to LaGuardia Airport via Columbus, Ohio. The second aircraft, a United Airlines DC-8, registration N8013U, was flying non-stop from Chicago, Illinois, to New York International Airport.
As the TWA flight approached the Linden Intersection, controllers at LaGuardia Approach began providing radar vectors to guide the aircraft toward its final approach. During this period, the United Airlines crew reported a malfunction in one of their two VHF radio navigational receivers. While the airline was notified of this equipment failure, Air Traffic Control was not informed.
A change in routing issued by the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center shortened the flight path for the United aircraft by roughly 11 miles. This reduction in distance left the crew with insufficient time to manually retune their remaining functional receiver to establish necessary cross-bearings. Consequently, the United aircraft exceeded its clearance limit and traveled several miles past the intended turning point at the Preston Intersection.
The two aircraft collided approximately 11 miles past the intersection. The impact caused the TWA Model 1049A Constellation to crash at Miller Army Air Field. The United Airlines DC-8 continued on a northeasterly path before crashing into a residential area in Brooklyn, New York. The collision resulted in 128 fatalities among the occupants of both aircraft and 6 fatalities on the ground.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the United Airlines flight proceeded beyond its assigned airspace and clearance limit. A primary contributing factor was the high speed of the United DC-8 as it approached the Preston Intersection, exacerbated by a revised clearance that significantly reduced the available navigation time for the crew.