United Air Lines Flight 297
A Vickers Viscount similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | November 23, 1962 |
| Summary | Bird strike |
| Site | Howard County, near Ellicott City, Maryland |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Vickers Viscount 745D |
| Operator | United Airlines |
| Call sign | UNITED 297 |
| Registration | N7430 |
| Flight origin | Newark International Airport |
| 1st stopover | Washington National Airport |
| 2nd stopover | Raleigh–Durham Airport |
| Last stopover | Charlotte Municipal Airport |
| Destination | Atlanta Airport |
| Occupants | 17 |
| Passengers | 13 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 17 |
| Survivors | 0 |
United Air Lines Flight 297 was a scheduled flight from Newark International Airport to Atlanta that crashed 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Baltimore on November 23, 1962, killing all 17 people on board. An investigation concluded that the aircraft, a Vickers Viscount 745D turboprop airliner, had struck at least two whistling swans, which caused severe damage to the plane, resulting in a loss of control.
The accident resulted in a greater understanding of the amount of damage that can be caused by bird strikes during flight. As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued new safety regulations that required newly certified aircraft to be able to better withstand in-flight impacts with birds without affecting the aircraft's ability to fly or land safely.