Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | November 15, 1964 |
| Type | Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) |
| Site | 8 miles (13 km) S of Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Passengers | 26 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Fatalities | 29 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Fairchild F27 |
| Operator | Bonanza Air Lines |
| Tail number | N745L (formerly N145L) |
Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 was a Fairchild F27 turboprop airliner flying out of Phoenix, Arizona to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the evening of November 15, 1964. During a nighttime landing approach in poor weather conditions it crashed into a mountain about 8 miles (13 km) south of the airport. All 29 aboard died instantly when the plane exploded on impact, only 10 feet (3 m) below a ridge crest. Although this was not the only incident involving a Bonanza Air Lines airplane, it is the only crash with fatalities during the airline's 23-year history.[1]
The crash was initially blamed on pilot Henry Fitzpatrick flying too low because of misreading the approach chart for McCarran International, however an investigation years later showed that the chart was marked in a non-standard, and possibly confusing, manner. Some heirs of the victims sued the publisher of the chart, but before a verdict was reached in the wrongful death lawsuit the chart company agreed to pay the plaintiffs US$490,000.[2]
