Braniff International Airways Flight 542
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) investigated the accident and, after interviewing numerous eyewitnesses and examining the debris field, were able to conclude that the initial failure of the aircraft had begun in the left wing.The investigation into the Northwest crash discovered a new phenomenon of harmonic coupling within the wings of aircraft, which in the end was ultimately identified by the CAB as being the cause of both break-ups.The plane was eleven days old, having come off Lockheed's California manufacturing line on September 18, 1959, and had only 132 hours of flight time.The right wing outboard of the number four engine broke away as well, causing structural damage to the fuselage and triggering the breakup of the aircraft.One of the passengers was George Uffner, a New York organized crime figure and former associate of Arnold Rothstein, Charles Luciano and Frank Costello.Investigation determined that the break-up of the plane had begun in the left wing and progressed in a catastrophic sequence which ultimately destroyed the aircraft.Following the second crash, CAB Chief Safety Investigator Phillip Goldstein was reported as saying: "The structure was subjected to forces greater than it was designed for.
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