United Airlines Flight 389

United Airlines Flight 389 was a scheduled flight from LaGuardia Airport, New York City, New York, to O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois. On August 16, 1965, at approximately 21:21 EST, the Boeing 727 crashed into Lake Michigan 20 miles (32 km) east of Fort Sheridan, near Lake Forest, while descending from 35,000 feet mean sea level (MSL). All 30 people on board perished, including Clarence "Clancy" Sayen, the former president of the Air Line Pilots Association. There was no indication of any unusual problem prior to impact. United Airlines Flight 389 is still used as a JFK-SFO route using a Boeing 757-200.

A definitive cause was not determined by National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators. However, it was believed that the crash was most likely the result of the pilots misreading their three-pointer (3p) altimeters by 10,000 feet.

Read more about United Airlines Flight 389:  Accident Sequence, Altimeter Study, Investigation, Probable Cause

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