TWA Flight 553

Trans World Airlines Flight 553 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15 jet airliner, registration N1063T, operated by Trans World Airlines in American airspace en route from Pittsburgh to Dayton. While descending toward Dayton about 29 miles from the airport, the flight collided in midair with a Beechcraft Baron near Urbana, Ohio, on March 9, 1967. All 25 people on board the DC-9 were killed, as was the pilot of the Beechcraft, its sole occupant.SummaryFlight 553 departed from Greater Pittsburgh Airport en route to Dayton Municipal Airport. After passing Columbus, Ohio, Flight 553 had been cleared to descend from Flight Level (FL) 200 (about 20000ft above sea level) to 3000ft. The flight was in uncontrolled airspace, but being handled by Dayton radar approach control, who advised them of uncontrolled VFR traffic ahead and slightly to the right, and one mile away, about 18 seconds before the collision. The crew acknowledged the traffic advisory. As the airliner descended through 4500ft at a speed of 323 knots on a southwest heading, it collided with the smaller craft, a southbound Beechcraft Baron 55. The front right side of the DC-9 hit the left side of the Beechcraft. Both aircraft fell to earth in Concord Township, a rural area northwest of the city of Urbana in Champaign County. The collision was just north of the intersection of Lippincott Road and State Route 29.