United AirlinesFlight 718, City of Vancouver, headed for Chicago Midway Airport, and Trans World Airlines Flight 2, Star of the Seine, headed for Kansas City Downtown Airport, both took off from Los Angeles International Airport shortly after 9:00 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time on Saturday, June 30, 1956. They were scheduled to pass over the Painted Desert checkpoint in Arizona at 10:30 A.M. Mountain Standard Time (same time as PDT). At 10:31, Flight 718 radioed Salt Lake Control with the following statement: "Salt Lake, United 718... ah... we're going in!" This was the last transmission heard from either of the planes, which had collided over the Painted Desert. Following the aerial collision both planes fell inside the Grand Canyon, killing all passengers and crew aboard both. The final death toll was 128 people.
As a result of the massive public outcry over this accident, a radar monitoring system was hastily created using old military radar systems. In addition, two years later, Congress created an agency which was the forerunner of the Federal Aviation Administration, the purpose of which was to monitor flights and prevent further collisions.
United still uses the flight number 718 on its Burbank-San Francisco route.
TWA used flight number 2 on its Honolulu-St. Louis route prior to merging with American Airlines.
"United Airlines Flight 718"