United Air Lines Flight 297: 1962 Bird Strike Accident (N7430)

Accident Overview and Loss of Life On November 23, 1962, United Air Lines Flight 297, a Vickers-Armstrong Viscount Model 745D with registration N7430, crashed in a wooded area six miles west-southwest of Ellicott City, Maryland, at approximately 1224 e.s.t. The aircraft was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to Washington, D.C. All thirteen passengers and four crew members were fatally injured in the accident. ## Bird Strike and Structural Failure The flight was operating at an assigned altitude of 6,000 feet when it apparently penetrated a flock of Whistling Swans. At least two of the birds were struck by the aircraft. One swan collided with the right horizontal stabilizer, inflicting only superficial damage. The other bird punctured the left horizontal stabilizer, traveled through the structure, and dented the elevator as it exited. The weakened structure failed in this area, rendering the aircraft uncontrollable and resulting in the aircraft striking the ground in a nose-low inverted attitude.