DISASTERS: Death in the Air

An air-traffic controller hunched over his radarscope one morning last week as he nursed Trans World Airlines' Super Constellation Flight 266 (from Dayton and Columbus) through rain, sleet and snow toward New York's La Guardia Airport. At 10:35 an unexpected blip slid across his scope, and he picked up his microphone to call Flight 266 with unaccustomed urgency:

"Unidentified target approaching you at 4 miles, 3 o'clock!"

Replied TWA Pilot David Wollan: "Roger. Acknowledged."

An instant later, the tower operator called again:

"Unidentified object approaching 2 miles, 2 o'clock!"

Again the TWA pilot, unable himself...

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