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These tragedies triggered major technological advances in flight safety that keep air travel routine today. These are the plane crashes that changed aviation.
13 Plane Crashes That Changed Aviation
These tragedies triggered major technological advances that keep us flying safe today. Brian BrainerdGetty Images
Flying in a jetliner is extraordinarily safe. But air travel only became so reliable because previous accidents caused crucial safety improvements. From midair collisions, to on-board fires, to a fatigued fuselage that turned a plane into a high-altitude convertible, these tragedies triggered major technological advances in flight safety that keep air travel routine today.
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Upgrade: Collision avoidance and a better ATC
In the skies above the Grand Canyon on June 30, 1956, two planes that had recently taken off from Los Angeles International Airport a United Airlines Douglas DC-7 headed to Chicago and a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation on its way to Kansas City collided. All 128 passengers and crew aboard both flights were killed.