Sat May 14, 2022 8:47 pm
This May 22nd will mark the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Continental Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 707 en route from Chicago O'Hare to Los Angeles via Kansas City. The aircraft carried 45 passengers and crew and was on its first leg when a passenger placed dynamite in the right rear lavatory and it caused the tail section to fall off. The aircraft crashed in a field just north west of Unionville, Missouri. The tail section came down over the state line in Iowa. One survivor , a Japanese national, was found alive but died shortly after being rescued in Centerville, Iowa. In 2010 a memorial was erected in the town square of Unionville and in 2012 a special 50th anniversary memorial service was held with special guests from as far away as New Zealand. The crash was brought to light by the efforts of a New Zealand based blogger and countless hours of research were placed by locals and historians to track a number of families of victims down. The 707 was piloted by Fred Gray one if Continental's most proficient captains. It marked the first ever bombing of a commercial jet on American soil and inspired the Arthur Hailey book and subsequent movie "Airport". The 707 involved, N70775 had previously been involved in a hijacking incident at El Paso, TX in 1961. A special luncheon service is expected to mark the 60th anniversary in Unionville, MO this May 22nd.