United Airlines Flight 291

### Summary

Hijacked near Dallas then flew across America, crashed in Harrisburg, North Carolina

## Flight

### Flight Origin

Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport, Destin, Fort Walton

### Flight Destination

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas

### Survivors

283 or 146

On November 23, 1993, **United Airlines Flight 291**, 11 hours and 20 minutes after departing Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport, unexpectedly crashed in Harrisburg, North Carolina with 422 passangers, after flying across the South-West, Mid-West, and South-East United States. The aircraft was allegedly hijacked when it was around 45 and a half miles east of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, its inital arrival target.

After allegedly being hijacked, the plane crossed into Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Making a southern turn near Nashvile. Then rapidly turning towards Washington D.C. 23 miles south of D.C at 4 PM, the left engine malfunctioned. causing the airplane to advance down south, theories say that the plane was originally intended to go to Virginia Beach after this, but reports proved it wrong in a document in 2012. When it entered North Carolina, air traffic controllers began to notice its rapid descent towards Charolette. The plane began to roll to the right as it made its descent to Charolette. It's second engine exploded at 9:14 PM, which severely affected the planes journey. The plane made a nosedive 185˚ when it eventually crashed at Harrisburg Park at 05:12 PM.

Mere minutes after the plane crash, news companies such as the CBS, BBC, and NBC began reporting about the incident. An investigation project began the next day to discover who hijacked the aircraft. Scientists have later fiund many airplane parts and identified the dead bodies of the fatally wounded.

In popular culture, the flight is also nicknamed **The 1993 Flight Across America** and is the original story behind the 1981 movie, **291, Over Under.**

## Flight

### Departure

At 05:51 AM, the aircraft took off from Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport, it took off from Runaway 28C. air-traffic control estimated that by 05:53, the flight was at an altitude of 5,084.31 feet, climbing 32 feet every second and going at a speed of 120 - 142 knots (138 - 163 MPH). Once the aircraft reached Harold at 05:59:22, it was moving at a speed of 162 knots. The crew advanced across Allentown and McDavid with an average speed of 212 MPH.

The first transmission of the aircraft was sent at 06:03:17. The message read:
"How's Flight 291 going?" "Whats your altitude?"
The crew didn't respond until 06:03:49:
"The flight is going good, our altitude is around, 6000 feet."

### Mid-air collision

Apon reaching Jackson, Alabama. The aircraft's left wing collided with Delta Airline's Flight 933's right wing. The right wing rapidly came off the plane as the engine exploded causing a large boom sound. The explosion blasted at a force of 280 pounds of TNT. The thrust of the plane caused it to slow down in the air as the plane began to move at a 162˚ dive, heading towards Uriah and making an all time low altitiude of 17,000 feet.
Many of the passengers believed that it was a bomb, as one of the passengers, William Rocker said:
"What menacing terrorist could do something like this?" (Said at 06:34)

Despite the aircraft still heading at a 234˚ direction, intending to go back to its original route. The radar wouldn't show Flight 291. Manyy air-traffic controllers believed the plane crashed and sent multiple messages between 06:37 and 07:13. The crew would respond saying the aircraft was fine and that all the passengers were safe.

The aircraft went on a slightly different route then its intention, instead of going to Jackson directly, the aircraft would move hundreds of miles north of it to avoid a large-scale plane crash in a populated area and to avoid many casualties. The aircraft would be back at around 26,000 feet in the air by 07:34. As the aircraft entered Louisiana, passengers were vomiting and suffocating due to the fear of another bomb being planted in the plane. Several flameouts occured when the aircraft was in Louisiana.

### Possible Hijacking and Re-reoute

As the aircraft entered Texas, the air-control system couldn't contact the plane. So the last transmitted messages between the crew and the air-traffic controllers took place at 08:57:22. After that the radar couldn't detect the plane anymore. As it flew over Texas without supervision and had the free-rein to change routes or intentionally crash into Dallas. As a result, military jets were sent so that the aircraft could continue it's route. Between 09:00 and 09:29, the aircraft moved at a sharp 180˚ direction, as the airplane reach Okhlahoma, thousands of bystanders saw the plane at a low altitude of 3,400 feet.

The aircraft reached Arkansas around 09:38 - 09:43. The plane flew dangerously low to the ground, as a result many people across the plane's route would be able to see the plane gale across the South-West. When the aircraft entered Tennessee at 11:21. The plane was at an altitude of 16,700. When it approched Nashville, the plane took a turn south, as an attempt to avoid any major sky-scrapers. By this time, many news companies across the world such as France 24, BBC, and the NNN would cover on the topic.

### Advance in the mountains

The plane entered Kentucky and West Virginia at noon, at 01:02 PM. The plane would make a rapid advance south in the mountains, the plane would take a nose-dive at around 922 knots. Then the plane would head back upwards again, the motion would repeat as the air-traffic controllers would get the information and make a conclusion that the plane was hijacked.

When the aircraft entered Pennyslvania at 03:00:48, the plane would go in a direction as if they we're aiming for New York City, which ignited suspicion in the air-traffic controllers, This would be proven wrong as the plane would go in a rapid advance moving in between Baltimore and D.C. Around 4, the left engine malfunctioned due toan unknown reason, eventually casuing the plane to rapidly envelop, by this time air-traffic controllers had the information of the engine failure. The military jets still didnt know where the plane was exactly. The plane tilted to the right when it was near Mooresville as the second engine exploded at 04:47:08.

### Crash

The plane made a 185˚ when it was advancing at over 1,000 knots. The plane crashed at 05:12:54 at Harrisburg, Pennysvlnia