United Air Lines Flight 409 Crash.

On the morning of October 6, 1955, a United Air Lines DC-4 (UAL Flight 409) en route from New York City to San Francisco with scheduled stops at Denver and Salt Lake City, crashed into a ridge of Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 feet), west of Laramie, Wyoming, killing all 66 passengers and crew members. The Wyoming Air National Guard initiated a search when radio contact was lost with the crew. The wreckage was spotted on a ledge high up in the Snowy Range. Rescuers were on the scene by early afternoon, and over the course of approximately one week bodies were recovered, debris was removed, an investigation ensued, and the remaining wreckage was shelled and burned. This was the worst civil air disaster in U.S. history to that date.

From the description of United Air Lines Flight 409 Crash collection, 1939-2001 (bulk 1955) (University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center). WorldCat record id: 53043206

On the morning of October 6, 1955, a United Air Lines DC-4 (UAL Flight 409) en route from New York City to San Francisco with scheduled stops in Denver and Salt Lake City, crashed into a ridge of Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 feet), west of Laramie, killing all 66 passengers and crew members.

When radio contact was lost with the crew, an air search was initiated by the Wyoming Air National Guard. The wreckage was spotted on a ledge high up in the Snowy Range west of Laramie. Rescuers were on the scene by early afternoon, and over the course of approximately one week bodies were recovered, debris was removed, an investigation ensued, and the remaining wreckage was shelled and burned.

This was the worst civil air disaster in U.S. history to that date. Another tragic event occurred less than one month after the Medicine Bow Peak crash when a UAL plane exploded in mid air killing all 44 people on board. Investigators believed a saboteur attempted to mimic the October 6 crash by setting a bomb to detonate when the plane was in the vicinity of Medicine Bow Peak. However, the plane was delayed for a short while at the Denver airport, which led to the bomb detonating south of Medicine Bow Peak near Loveland, Colorado.

From the guide to the United Air Lines Flight 409 Crash collection, 1939-2001, 1955, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)