Same Date 33 Years Ago Also Bad One for Midway

In a perhaps eerie and, at the very least, coincidental occurrence, Thursday's crash at Midway Airport occurred the same day as an infamous 1972 crash that killed a congressman and the wife of a central figure in the Watergate scandal.

According to the Chicago Public Library's Web site, on Dec. 8, 1972, United Airlines Flight 533 was approaching Midway when the pilot pulled out to make a second landing attempt.

More than a mile from the airport, the plane hit trees near 71st Street and then smashed into several homes. Forty three of the 61 passengers and crew were killed when the plane burst into flames, and two residents died.

On the plane was Dorothy Hunt, the wife of E. Howard Hunt, who was indicted on charges of conspiring to break into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. In her purse, rescue workers found more than $10,000 in cash.

U.S. Rep. George Collins, a former 24th Ward Chicago alderman, was also killed in the plane.

The involvement of such prominent public figures and the wads of cash in Hunt's purse fueled speculation of a conspiracy or other misdeeds. The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that air traffic controllers failed to prepare the flight for a proper second landing, and the plane stalled out, causing the crash.

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