Ogden-Hill – Mountain Home – Spokane – Great Falls – Minot – Grand Forks

On August 24, 1970 at 07:08 AM, Ogden-Hill – Mountain Home – Spokane – Great Falls – Minot – Grand Forks experienced a crash involving Lockheed L-188 Electra, operated by Universal Airlines, with the event recorded near Ogden-Hill AFB Utah.

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

3 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 3 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The airplane was engaged in a cargo flight from Ogden-Hill AFB to Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota, with intermediate stops in Mountain Home, Fairchild AFB (Spokane), Great Falls and Minot, carrying various equipment for the US Army. After liftoff from runway 32, while climbing, the pilot raised the landing gear when the airplane pitched down to 15°. It lost height and struck the ground 8,200 feet past the runway end, slid for about 2,600 feet before coming to rest in flames. All three crew members were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Aircraft reference details include registration N855U, MSN 2012, year of manufacture 1959.