On November 1, 1955, United Airlines flight 629 from Denver, Colorado to Seattle, Washington took off from Denver’s Stapleton Airfield at 6:52 pm, carrying thirty-nine passengers and five crew members. Roughly ten minutes later, the aircraft exploded in the air, killing all forty-four people onboard and scattering fiery debris across several miles of Colorado’s landscape.

By the early 1950s, air travel had become a popular means of travel for more and more Americans and, while air disasters weren’t unheard of, they nonetheless called into question the safety of traveling on a passenger flight. This time, however, investigators quickly determined that the explosion of flight 629 hadn’t been an accident; someone had intentionally sabotaged the flight with a suitcase bomb.

The explosion of United Airlines flight 629 marked the first time a passenger plane had been bombed in the United States, something few if any authorities ever thought would happen. In the event of an act of terror, an individual or group typically comes forward quickly to claim credit; however, in the case of flight 629, no one came forward and investigators were left to wonder, what possible reason could someone have for killing forty-four people with no obvious connection between them?

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Anastasio, Jeff. 2024. A worst act of terror. August 2. Accessed August 6, 2024. https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/a-worst-act-of-terror-the-mission-to-build-a-memorial-to-remember-the-bombing-of-flight-629-in-colorado.

Associated Press. 1955. "Arraignment for Graham postponed." Daily Sentinel, November 17: 1.

—. 1955. "Charge of murder planned in Denver on mother's death." Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 15: 1.

—. 1955. "FBI begins investgation of Longmont air crash." Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 8: 1.

—. 1955. "Graham denies plane bombing." Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 18: 1.

—. 1955. "Graham linked to dynamite." Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 21: 1.

—. 1955. "Judge orders hospital check." Fort Collins Coloradoan, December 9: 1.

—. 1955. "Paper says bomb evidence found in UAL plane crash." Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 7: 1.

—. 1955. "Probe is started by bomb expert." Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 3: 1.

—. 1955. "Victim's son bought insurance policy before flight, FBI says." Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 14: 1.

2013. A Crime to Remember. Directed by Christine Connor. Performed by Christine Connor.

Field, Andrew. 2005. Mainliner Denver: The Bombing of Flight 629. Denver, CO: Bower House Publishing.

Garner, Joe. 2005. "Terror in the Colorado sky John Graham's legacy: The mass murder of 44 people in Nov. '55." Rocky Mountain News, October 14.

Gauss, Gordon. 1955. "44 die in crash near Longmont." Daily Sentinel, November 2: 1.

John Gilbert Graham v. People of the State of Colorado. 1956. 18058 (Supreme Court of Colorado, October 22).

Pitman, Frank. 1956. "Graham reportedly resigned to death, overheard telling lawyer 'don't want to appeal'." Daily Sentinel, May 6: 1.

United Press. 1955. "44 on plane die in crash in west." New York Times, November 2: 1.

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