United Air Lines Flight 23

United Air Lines Flight 23

A Boeing 247 similar to the aircraft involved
Accident
Date	October 10, 1933 (1933-10-10)
Summary	Deliberate on-board explosion
Site	Near Chesterton, Indiana, United States 41°34′12″N 86°59′18″W / 41.57000°N 86.98833°W / 41.57000; -86.98833
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 247D
Operator	United Air Lines
IATA flight No.	UA23
ICAO flight No.	UAL23
Call sign	UNITED 23
Registration	NC13304
Flight origin	Newark, New Jersey, United States
1st stopover	Cleveland, Ohio, US
Last stopover	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Destination	Oakland, California, United States
Occupants	7
Passengers	4
Crew	3
Fatalities	7
Survivors	0

United Air Lines Flight 23 was a regularly-scheduled flight operated by United Air Lines^[a] between Newark, New Jersey, and Oakland, California, with intermediate stops. On October 10, 1933, the Boeing 247 airliner serving the flight, registered as NC13304^[1], exploded and crashed near Chesterton, Indiana, United States, en route from Cleveland to Chicago. It carried three crew and four passengers. All aboard died in the accident, which was caused by an on-board explosive device. Eyewitnesses on the ground reported hearing an explosion shortly after 9 pm and seeing the aircraft in flames at an altitude around 1,000 feet (300 m). A second explosion followed after the aircraft crashed. The accident site was adjacent to a gravel road about 5 miles (8 km) outside of Chesterton, centered in a wooded area on the Jackson Township farm of James Smiley.^[2][3]

Investigators combed through the debris and were confronted with unusual evidence; the toilet and baggage compartment had been smashed into fragments. Shards of metal riddled the inside of the toilet door, while the other side of the door was free of the metal fragments. The tail section had been severed just aft of the toilet and was found mostly intact, with two of the victims' bodies nearby,^[3] almost a mile away from the main wreckage.^[4]

The Federal Bureau of Investigation declassified 324 documents related to the investigation on November 16, 2017.^{[3][non-primary source needed]} It is notable for being the first proven act of air sabotage in the history of commercial aviation.

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