West Coast Airlines Flight 956 was a scheduled commercial flight in the western United States which crashed on October 1, 1966, approximately 5.5 miles (9 km) south of Wemme, Oregon, southeast of Portland. Thirteen passengers and five crew members were aboard, but none survived. In its first week of service, the aircraft was destroyed by the impact and subsequent fire.
The probable cause of the accident was "the descent of the aircraft below its clearance limit and below that of surrounding obstructing terrain, but the Board was unable to determine the cause of such descent." This accident was the first loss of a Douglas DC-9, and the first fatalities for the airline. Three of the passengers were employees of the airline.
1966Oct, 1
West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with eighteen fatalities and no survivors 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.
Choose Another Date
Events on 1966
- 10Mar
Buddhist Uprising
Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ sacked rival General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation. - 6Jul
Hastings Banda
Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President. - 10Jul
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago. As many as 60,000 people attend. - 14Oct
Montreal Metro
The city of Montreal begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid transit system. - 8Nov
Reconstruction Era
Former Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke becomes the first African American elected to the United States Senate since Reconstruction.