United Air Lines Flight 297

United Air Lines Flight 297 was a scheduled American flight from Newark International Airport to Atlanta that crashed 10 mi southwest of Baltimore on November 23, 1962, killing all 17 people on board. An investigation concluded that the aircraft, a Vickers Viscount 745D turboprop airliner, had struck at least two whistling swans, which caused severe damage to the plane, resulting in a loss of control.

The accident resulted in a greater understanding of the amount of damage that can be caused by bird strikes during flight. As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued new safety regulations that required newly certified aircraft to be able to better withstand in-flight impacts with birds without affecting the aircraft's ability to fly or land safely.

Accident

The flight, flying as United Air Lines Flight 297, was a scheduled passenger flight from Newark to Atlanta, with stops at Washington National Airport, Raleigh–Durham Airport, and Charlotte Municipal Airport. It had 13 passengers and 4 crew members on board. The first leg of the flight was scheduled to last one hour at a true airspeed of 260 knot.

The plane departed Newark at 11:39 a.m. local time and proceeded normally until 12:14 p.m., when it was cleared to descend from 10,000 to 6,000 feet. At 12:19 p.m., air traffic controllers advised the flight that they had received numerous reports of large numbers of ducks and geese in the area, and the pilots acknowledged the report. At 12:22 p.m., Washington Approach directed the flight to turn left to a heading of 200 degrees, which was also confirmed by the pilots. An additional course change was transmitted at 12:23 p.m., but was not acknowledged. At 12:24 p.m., controllers lost radar contact with the plane.

The aircraft struck two whistling swans with its stabilizers at 6,000 feet. One of the birds caused only superficial damage to the right stabilizer, approximately one foot long and an eighth of an inch deep, while the other crashed completely through the left stabilizer and came out the other side. The impact caused the stabilizer to separate from the plane; it was found a quarter of a mile from the main wreckage. Investigators estimated that the crash might not have occurred if the two birds had hit the aircraft just a few inches higher or lower. The plane lost control, and in less than a minute, the aircraft's altitude dropped from approximately 6,000 feet to ground level, and its airspeed increased from 240 to 365 knot indicated airspeed. The plane crashed 10 mi southwest of Baltimore and exploded, killing all of the occupants.