1956 Mid-Air Collision over Grand Canyon



Mystery: What are the “discrete areas” in the 1956 Mid-Air Collision over Grand Canyon report, and the related “nature and location of archaeological resources” that the National Park Service is guarding under ARPA (1979) at the United airlines crash site?

1956 aviation accident
On June 30, 1956, a Trans World Airlines Super Constellation L-1049 and a United Airlines DC-7 collided in uncontested airspace 21,000 feet over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, killing all 128 people onboard the two flights.

Discreet areas coverup
The US Department of the Interior, National Park Service issued an accident report for the 1956 Grand Canyon TWA and United Airlines aviation accident. The location of incident is reported to be at the Grand Canyon National Park Archaeological site AZ:C:13:0755 in zip code 86023.

Debris from the mid air collision was scattered over 1.5 square miles east and west of the Colorado River. The site is difficult to access, requiring multiple transit days via hiking trails or the Colorado River. The crash areas were closed to hikers, however it was reported that “many persons” visited those sites annually to remove crash artifacts, despite the restrictions.

The report also states the following about the crash sites:
 * “The United recovery operations camp contains three and possibly four discrete areas immediately west of the impact site”.
 * “Location. The area of the Grand Canyon [ the identification redacted ] is the exacted location of the 1956 mid-air aviation accident.”

The United accident site is located on a bedrock ledge at the top of an 800-foot-high Redwall limestone cliff. All further information involving the specifics of the crash site, in relation to the “discrete areas”, had officially been redacted from the report.

Denied under ARPA
Despite the Freedom of Information act, the Grand Canyon National Park Service continues to deny requests for non-redacted copies of the National Service Park 1956 aviation incident report. In 2016, they countered disclosure by claiming that it is “managed as an archaeological resource” and can withhold information under the (ARPA). They further state, “This statue withholds disclosure of information pertaining to the nature and location of archaeological resources within federal jurisdiction .”

Resources

 * National Park Service, 1956 Mid-Air Collision over Grand Canyon report in PDF
 * LA Times, Grand Canyon air crash site is new U.S. landmark--but you can't visit, by MARY FORGIONE | APR 29, 2014
 * The Atlantic, The Site of a 1950s Plane Crash Just Became a National Landmark; But the Park Service won't tell you how to get there, by ADRIENNE LAFRANCE | APR 24, 2014
 * Grand Canyon, Details of 1956 Airplane Crash Grand Canyon
 * Wikipedia,