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From The Vault: Plane crash on Northern Kentucky hillside killed 58 in 1965

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Posted at 1:27 PM, Nov 03, 2016
and last updated 2020-01-25 14:05:12-05

CINCINNATI  - In the 1960s, flying commercial wasn't nearly as safe as it is today.

Landings could be especially dangerous 50 years ago, because without today's computers, guidance systems and cockpit instrumentation were right out of Bedrock.

And flying into an airport atop a hill made it more treacherous.

There were two disastrous crashes on approach to Greater Cincinnati Airport in the 60s. The first happened on Nov. 8, 1965.

WATCH video of the crash in the player above (Note: There is no sound).

American Airlines Flight 383 from New York City was flying over Delhi Township and descending across the Ohio River in light snow. The pilot misjudged the altimeters and crashed into the hillside at Constance, Kentucky - across the river from Sayler Park.

The crash killed 58 on board. A stewardess and three others survived.

Two years later, tragedy repeated itself.

On Nov. 20, 1967, the pilots on TWA Flight 128 from Los Angeles were making a visual approach at night in light snow. The plane struck trees on the Constance hillside and crashed a little more than a mile short of the runway, killing 70. There were 12 survivors.

That was the deadliest crash in Tri-State history.

A total of 175 people have died in eight commercial plane accidents in and around Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

SEE a history of all the airplane disasters at CVG.

That number includes 23 people killed on Air Canada Flight 97 on June 2, 1983. That plane caught fire en route from Dallas to Montreal and made an emergency landing at CVG, where it burst into flames on the runway. The victims died of smoke inhalation.

SEE more video and stories about Tri-State history in our "From The Vault" series.