TWA Flight 260: Investigation of a 1950s Mountain Collision (N40416)

Clearance and Departure Details at 0703 hours, TWA Flight 260 received an IFR clearance from the tower to approach Santa Fe Airport via Victor 19, climbing northbound on the back course of the ILS localizer. The flight departed Albuquerque at 0705 hours. The tower requested the flight to report over the Weiler Intersection, formerly known as the Alameda Intersection, but no further radio contacts were made after takeoff. The aircraft was last seen at an estimated altitude of 3,000 feet (8,300 feet mean sea level) in a high-speed shallow climb, continuing its heading toward Sandia Ridge, where the upper portion was obscured by clouds. The wreckage was discovered the following morning at 9,243 feet mean sea level, just below the crest of Sandia Mountain, approximately 13 miles northeast of Albuquerque Airport. This location was almost directly on a straight-line course of 30 degrees magnetic from Albuquerque Airport (elevation 5,340 feet mean sea level) to Santa Fe Airport (elevation 6,344 feet mean sea level).