United Air Lines Flight 615

1951 aviation accident

United Air Lines Flight 615
Accident
The wreckage and remains of the accident aircraft.
Date	August 24, 1951
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	Near Decoto, California, United States
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-6B
Aircraft name	Mainliner Omaha
Operator	United Airlines
Registration	N37550
Flight origin	Boston
1st stopover	Hartford, Connecticut
2nd stopover	Cleveland, Ohio
3rd stopover	Chicago
Last stopover	Oakland, California
Destination	San Francisco
Occupants	50
Passengers	44
Crew	6
Fatalities	50
Survivors	0

United Air Lines Flight 615 was a US transcontinental east–west airline service from Boston to Hartford, Cleveland, Chicago, Oakland and San Francisco. On August 24, 1951, the Douglas DC-6 with registration N37550^[1] operating the service, crashed on approach to Oakland, causing the death of all 44 passengers and 6 crew members on board.^[2]

The flight departed Chicago at 10:59 p.m. CST en route to Oakland. At around 4:16 a.m., the plane was approaching Oakland. At this time, the pilot, Marion W. Hedden of Los Altos, had talked with the control tower of the Civil Aeronautics Administration at the airport preparing for his landing, and had mentioned no trouble. At 4:25 a.m. Flight 615 was cleared for the straight-in approach into Oakland.

This approach clearance was the last radio transmission with the flight. The plane crashed into mountainous terrain 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Oakland, careening into Tolman Peak and over its knoll, scattering on the downslope and into Dry Gulch Canyon below in a fiery explosion. All 50 persons on board perished.

After an investigation, it was determined that the pilot ignored the prescribed instrument landing procedures. The pilot instead relied on visual reference, using the copilot's automatic direction finder (ADF). The ADF threw the plane three miles (4.8 km) off course and below the prescribed altitude of 3,500 feet (1,100 m).

References

^ "FAA Registry (N37550)". Federal Aviation Administration.
^ "CAB Accident Investigation Report, SA-239 File No. 1-0058". 24 August 1951. Retrieved 2015-06-10.

External links

Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
Report - Civil Aeronautics Board - PDF
Union City History - Crash of Flight 615 - includes period photographs and a chart excerpt from CAB report
Wreckchasing.com - United Airlines Flight 615 - includes hiking directions to the crash site
Check-Six.com - The Crash of United Airline Flight #615 - includes full crew and passenger list
Mishalov.com - The Crash of a DC-6B in Alameda County, California - includes current-day photographs of crash site and topographic map
Accident scene photo^[usurped] from Airdisaster.com

37°36′52″N 121°59′33″W / 37.61444°N 121.99250°W / 37.61444; -121.99250

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1951 (1951)

Jan 14

National Airlines Flight 83

Jan 31

Glitfaxi air crash

Mar 23

Atlantic C-124 disappearance

Mar 27

Ringway Dakota crash

Apr 25

Cubana de Aviación Flight 493

Jun 22

Pan Am Flight 151

Jun 30

United Airlines Flight 610

Jul 21

Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 3505

Aug 24

United Airlines Flight 615

Nov 15

LOT Li-2 crash

Dec 16

Miami Airlines C-46 crash

Dec 22

Misrair Languedoc

Dec 29

Continental Charters Flight 44-2

1950 ◄ ► 1952

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Former airlines	Capital Airlines Continental Airlines Continental Micronesia Continental West New York Air Pan Am People Express Airlines Texas International Airlines
Former marketing brands	Continental Connection Continental Express Continental Lite Shuttle by United Ted
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People	William A. Patterson Glenn Tilton Larry Kellner Jeff Smisek Oscar Munoz Walter Varney Robert Six
Legal and public relations	Blakey v. Continental Airlines, Inc. Untied.com "United Breaks Guitars"
United Airlines accidents and incidents	Trip 23 (1933) 1934 Boeing 247 crash Trip 4 (1935) Flight 34 (1936) 1943 Liberator crash at Whenuapai (1943) Flight 521 (1947) Flight 608 (1947) Flight 624 (1948) Flight 610 (1951) Flight 615 (1951) 1955 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash Flight 409 (1955) Flight 629 (1955) 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision Flight 736 (1958) 1960 New York mid-air collision Flight 859 (1961) Flight 297 (1962) Flight 823 (1964) Flight 389 (1965) Flight 227 (1965) Flight 266 (1969) Flight 553 (1972) Flight 2860 (1977) Flight 173 (1978) Flight 2885 (1983) Flight 811 (1989) Flight 232 (1989) Flight 585 (1991) Flight 826 (1997) Flight 175 (2001) Flight 93 (2001) Flight 1175 (2018) Flight 328 (2021)
United Express accidents and incidents	Flight 2415 (1989) Flight 6291 (1994) Flight 5925 (1996) Flight 3411 (2017) Flight 4933 (2019)
Continental Airlines accidents and incidents	Flight 11 (1962) Flight 12 (1965) Flight 603 (1978) Flight 1713 (1987) Flight 55 (2000) Flight 1883 (2006) Flight 1404 (2008)
Continental Express / Connection accidents and incidents	Flight 2286 (1988) Flight 2574 (1991) Flight 3407 (2009)
Facilities	Willis Tower (Chicago) 77 West Wacker Drive (Chicago) 1600 Smith Street (Houston) 600 Jefferson (Houston) American General Center (former)
Category List of airline holding companies

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1950s
1950	Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash
1951	National Airlines Flight 83 Cubana de Aviación Flight 493 United Air Lines Flight 610 United Air Lines Flight 615 Miami Airlines C-46 Continental Charters Flight 44-2
1952	American Airlines Flight 6780 National Airlines Flight 101 Pan Am Flight 526A American Airlines Flight 910 Mount Gannett C-124 crash Moses Lake C-124 crash
1953	National Airlines Flight 470 Delta Air Lines Flight 318 USMC R4Q NROTC crash American Airlines Flight 723 BCPA Flight 304
1955	Cincinnati mid-air collision TWA Flight 260 American Airlines Flight 711 Hawaii R6D-1 crash Pan Am Flight 845/26 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash American Airlines Flight 476 United Air Lines Flight 409 United Air Lines Flight 629
1956	TWA Flight 400 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2 Grand Canyon mid-air collision Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 304
1957	Pacoima mid-air collision Northeast Airlines Flight 823 Northeast Airlines Flight 285
1958	Capital Airlines Flight 67 Capital Airlines Flight 300 Westover Air Force Base KC-135 crash Northeast Airlines Flight 258
1959	Southeast Airlines Flight 308 American Airlines Flight 320 The Day the Music Died Pan Am Flight 115 Capital Airlines Flight 75 American Airlines Flight 514 Braniff International Airways Flight 542 Piedmont Airlines Flight 349 National Airlines Flight 967 Allegheny Airlines Flight 371 San Diego F3H crash
This list is incomplete.