Investigators working through the cause of Flight 629 didn't realize they were looking in all the wrong places. While examining the wreckage, they determined a key piece of evidence was hidden inside one deceased passenger's purse...
All Systems Go
United Airlines flight was supposed to take off from New York's LaGuardia Airport and land at Denver's Stapleton International Airport. With a brief layover scheduled in Chicago, nothing about the flight or the flight path was out of the ordinary. When the crew boarded around 6:00 pm, they had no idea what the next few hours held in store...
Clear Skies Ahead
The takeoff went as planned, with little to no turbulence. About four minutes into the flight, the captain radioed to the air traffic control center to confirm that everything was okay. Only minutes later, everyone involved in the flight plan was about to witness a terrible shock...
Flashing White Lights
Around 7:00 pm, ground control spotted bright flashing lights in the sky. Upon realization, the crew realized those flashing lights were crashing from the sky. What was happening? How could the plane possibly be crasing? Responders went to the scene immediatly to look for survivors, but the plane itself was another question...
The Sky Rained Metal
The plane crashed down in Longmont, only 30 miles from the Stapleton International Airport. The airwaves were bombarded with reports of the crash. Many responders felt metal debris rain down from the sky, and it turns out the plane skipped its cross-inspection, and now the pieces were spread over six square miles...
A Fatal Crash
The authorities confirmed their worst fears: the flight had been completely fatal. All 39 of the passengers and five crew members had been instantly killed. The passengers ranged from 13 months to 81 years old. What had caused this tragedy?
Picking Up The Pieces
The first order of business was to gather evidence from the crash site. Upon a closer inspection, the crew realized that there was a strange odor coming from the site. Experts revealed that it was an odor often associated with explosive materials. They then called in the Civil Aeronautics Board, who confirmed something awful had happened here...
Confirming a Crime
The plane was in perfect condition, so this hadn't been an accident. Somehow, a passenger had snuck an explosive onto the flight, but the motive was still unclear. Why would someone purposefully take 44 lives? Authorities would find the answer in the most unlikely place...
Strange Chemicals
After some more investigating, it was discovered that four shards of sheet metal contained traces of dynamite. That meant this job was officially one for the FBI. Every passenger would have to have their files examined. One passenger in particular shed immense light on the search for answers...
How Do You Question The Deceased
The passengers were the first ones who made the suspect list, but interrogation would be impossible since they'd all perished. Investigators searched for anyone with a previous record or a past with enough darkness to warrant such a crime. They targeted passengers from Colorado, specifically...
One Particular Woman
The FBI discovered that several people from Colorado had taken out life insurace policies, which was a red flag for foul play. These people instantly became prime suspects, but one woman stood out in particular. Her story ended up being imperative to cracking the case...
Daisie King
53-year-old Daisie King, a Denver native, was one of the most clean-cut, law-abiding citizens you'd ever meet. No way did she have it in her to detonate a plane full of people. She was a widow, a mother, and a businesss owner. She was your average, kind-hearted middle-aged woman. However, a dark piece of her past had recently come back to haunt her...
Meet John Gilbert Graham
Authorities discovered that inside Daisie's tattered luggage there were newspaper clipping of a small-town criminal named John Gilbert Graham. It made no sense. Why did Daisie King care about a petty crook? As they did further research, they realized the two were deeply intwined...
John's Tormented Early Life
It turns out, John was Daiesie's son. She'd given birth to him in June 1932. However, Daisie didn't have enough money to care for her son, and the father had died suddenly, leaving her with nothing. She had almost no income of her own, so she made the difficult decision of putting John up for adoption...
Life Goes On
Despite the immense grief she felt for letting her child go, Daisie's life didn't stop. She married her third husband, and was overwhelmed by her new lifestyle. He was a smart and stable man, but when he passed away, she was left with a lot of money from his will. She opened the Crown-A Drive-In Diner. But what about John?
They Meet Again
Daisie had tracked down John, who was now 22 years old. She was heartbroken by his shattered past and his life of crime, and when they met again, she wanted to make it up to him. All of his crimes were related to money, such as embezzlement, forgery, and bootlegging. To pay him back for all the years she'd missed, she ended up making one huge mistake...
Changes To Her Life Insurance Policy
Daisie, who'd recently come into all that money, had made John the beneficiary o fher life insurance policy. The FBI then uncovered that Daisie's restaurant had also recently had a sudden explosion. John and Daisie made a ton of money off the incident. After this realization, John became the prime suspect for the plane crash...
Not Hard To Track Down
John had no idea Daisie had held on to those clippings, so he felt relatively calm in the days following the explosion. He thought there was no way he could be linked to the crime. But when an FBI agent showed up at John's door, he changed his story. The police discovered tons of insurance policies at his house, and an even bigger piece of evidence hidden int he garage...
Several Explosives
John had all the necessary tools to make a bomb in his garage. Although he'd thought his alibi was airtight, authorities still doubted Daisie was the mastermind behind the explosion. Witnesses then attested that John and Daisie didn't have the sort of relationship that he'd told the authorities about. They often fought, and John's alibi was proven faulty...
Caught In His Lies
John insisted Daisie had packed her own luggage, but the truth slowly came out. John's wife cracked under the pressure and admitted that John had packed Daisie's bags. This meant John was undeniably the one who had placed an explosive on board of the plane. He was done for, and the FBI knew that they'd caught their guy...
Carted Off to Jail
After much pushing, John finally confessed. He'd put the dynamite in Daisie's bag as a means to get the money all for himself. As a result, he was sentenced to the death penalty for purposefully killing 44 people. In his statement, he said, "As far as feeling remorse for these people, I don’t. I can’t help it. Everybody pays their way and takes their chances. That’s just the way it goes."
Pan Am Flight 73
There have been several other stories of disastrous plane crashes. The survivors of the Pan Am Flight 73 boarded what they thought would be a normal flight from India to New York. However, the 4:30 am layover didn't go as planned. The plane was filled with 394 passengers, including 9 infant babies, as well as the American flight crew and 13 Indian flight attendants. While 109 people got off during the layover, the remaining people on board were in for a nightmare...
A Plane Full of Hijackers
A pair of hijackers boarded the flight undetected because they were wearing replica sky-blue uniforms like that of the Pakistan Airport Security Force. They approached the plane with sirens and flashing lights, ran up the ramp, and fired a series of warning shots. Then more hijackers boarded with a suitcase full of explosives. The flight attendant was held at gunpoint and forced to shut the doors...
Nightmare On Board
It wasn't long after they seized control of the aircraft that the head hijacker realized the pilot crew was missing. He ordered the first-class passengers to the back of the plane and those in the back to the front of the plane. The passengers were forced to sit down in the aisles, galleys, and door exits as they awaited their fate. Next, he asked everyone to take out their passports...
Not long after the hijackers controlled the aircraft did they realize the pilot crew was missing. He ordered all first-class passengers to the back of the plane, and those in the back had to move to the front. They were forced to sit in the aisles, galleys, and door exits while they waited in terror for what was next...
Stolen Passports
Two flight attendants were demanded to collect passports from every passenger. These attendants hid all of the US passports, believing Americans were the target. They prayed this would help in case anyone survived the impending nightmare...
Michael Thexton
Michael Thexton, a passenger, was brought to the front of the plane. He was a UK citizen, and he knealt in front of the hijackers. They gave him water and said they wouldn't hurt him. Instead, they complained about the American and Israeli passengers and asked Thexton questions about his life. The hostages were held long into the night...
Inevitable Explosion
The hijackers were ready to go through with their evil plan, and had planted a bomb on a belt that would instantly kill everyone on board when shot. However, because it was so dark, the hijacker misfired, and there was only a small fire rather than a full explosion. Chaos ensued, and the hijackers shot into the group of passengers, but the darkness proved to be an issue again and they missed...
Hero Neerja Bhanot
Neerja Bhanot was killed in the massacre. She was shot in the back while she protected three young children. She was the head flight attendant, and was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra Award, India's highest honor for peacetime and bravery. She was also responsible for alerting the pilot crew early on so they could escape...
Escape Plan
One passenger, Dick Melhart, was able to unlatch one of the doors during the panic. The slide did not deploy, but most passengers braved the 20-foot drop onto the concrete. Another passenger opened the front of the plane that did deploy the slide, and those passengers were able to escape safely...
Incoming Rescuers
The 17-hour long hijacking was finally over, and the authorities stormed the aircraft and siezed the hijackers. After opening fire, the criminals ran out of ammunition fairly quickly, but thankfully very few passengers were injured. Nearly everyone was able to flee before the hijackers were arrested...
Afterwards
43 passengers were injured or killed aboard the flight during the hostage situation, including Neerja. Five hijackers were caught and sentenced to life in prison. They admitted to being members of terrorist group Abu Nidal Organization. Neerja's family set up two awards that are gifted to outstanding Indian women and heroic flight attendants annually in her honor.