TWA Flight 1

1936 in PennsylvaniaAccidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-2Airliner accidents and incidents in PennsylvaniaAviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1936Fayette County, Pennsylvania ... and 2 more

Trans World Airlines accidents and incidentsUse mdy dates from February 2025

Transcontinental and Western Airways Flight 1 (TWA 1), a Douglas DC-2, crashed into Cheat Mountain, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, approximately 10:20 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on April 7, 1936, killing 12 of the 14 passengers and crew aboard. Flight 1 was a regularly scheduled TWA Sun Racer flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles, with almost a dozen intermediate stops between. Approaching the flight's second stop, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Allegheny County Airport, pilot Otto Ferguson lost contact with the airport's radio navigation signal, and tracked several miles in a southwestern line off course. Fearing icing conditions, he descended in an attempt to find visual landmarks for navigation. Thick fog hindered him, and his descent continued until Flight 1 hit ice-covered trees atop Cheat Mountain, about 40 miles (64 km) south of Pittsburgh on the West Virginia line and near Uniontown, Pennsylvania. When the plane crashed it was aiming in a northern flight direction indicating that the pilot finally realized he had tracked south of his flightplan and may have been trying to correct it. (The flight should have been aimed due west not north or hours prior south-southwest.) The plane's two pilots were killed instantly, as were several passengers. Flight attendant Nellie Granger, though injured in the crash, got help for the surviving passengers by following nearby telephone wires to a home, where she called for help. Though one of the survivors later died of his injuries, Granger was hailed as a hero for her efforts to help them despite her own injuries.

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TWA Flight 1
Skyline Drive, Georges Township

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude	Longitude
N 39.79975 °	E -79.69905 °

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Address

Skyline Drive

Skyline Drive
Georges Township
Pennsylvania, United States
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Nearby Places

Laurel Caverns

Laurel Caverns is the largest cave in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by volume and area. Located in the community of Farmington, it sits on the Chestnut Ridge near Uniontown, roughly 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. Initially an unregulated wild cave that was known by locals and word of mouth as "Dulany's Cave" (alternate spelling: "Dulaney's Cave") during the early 1900s, it was owned, during the 1930s, by Norman Cale and his brother, and then later by Cale and his wife, Helen, who opened it to the general public as a show cave on July 1, 1964, and marketed it as "the caverns in the clouds". In 2025, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed turning Laurel Caverns into a state park. If approved by the General Assembly, the caverns' owner, David Cale, would donate them to the state government, which would maintain them for public use in perpetuity.

Georges Township, Pennsylvania

Georges Township is a township in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,346 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 6,612 tabulated in 2010. It is served by the Albert Gallatin Area School District. Collier, Newcomer, Oliphant Furnace, Haydentown, Ruble Mill, York Run, Shoaf, Amend, and Highhouse are villages within the township.

Oliphant Furnace, Pennsylvania

Oliphant Furnace is an unincorporated community and coal town in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The town began as a mining community which grew up around the cokeworks, which bore the name "Oliphant Furnace" in the 1870s. Other towns with "Furnace" in the name can be found in the region. Several original saltbox houses which were built by the mining companies can still be found in town, as well as the ruins of the cokeworks just outside town.

Brownfield, Pennsylvania

Brownfield is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Uniontown. Brownfield has a post office, with ZIP code 15416.

Fairchance, Pennsylvania

Fairchance is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,889 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 1,975 tabulated in 2010. It is served by the Albert Gallatin Area School District.

Muddy Run (Georges Creek tributary)

Muddy Run is a 4.46 mi (7.18 km) long 2nd order tributary to Georges Creek in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

Historic Summit Inn Resort

The Historic Summit Inn Resort, also known as the Summit Hotel, is an historic hotel complex and national historic district which is located atop the Summit Mountain of Chestnut Ridge by North Union Township and South Union Township in Farmington, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

South Union Township, Pennsylvania

South Union Township is a township in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,897 at the 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 10,681 tabulated in 2010.Communities within the township include Hopwood, Hatfield, Hutchinson, Chadville, South Uniontown, Leith, and Revere. South Union Township contains the larger two of the three Uniontown area shopping districts. The largest, centered on the Uniontown Mall, is located just outside the Uniontown city limits. Another important shopping area is called Walnut Hill and is located in Hatfield. The Laurel Highlands School District serves this township.

Alfred L. Wilson

Technician 5th Grade Alfred Leonard Wilson (September 18, 1919 – November 8, 1944) was a United States Army soldier who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during World War II.

Morris-Hair Tavern

Morris-Hair Tavern, also known as Heinbaugh's Hand-Picked Produce & Special Gifts, is a historic home that also served as an inn and tavern located at South Union Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1818, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, 5-bay, sandstone building with a center hall floor plan in an Early Republic style. It has a 2+1⁄2-story, kitchen ell. It served as a stop for 19th-century travelers on the National Road.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

Fayette County Career and Technical Institute

The Fayette County Career and Technical Institute, located near Uniontown, Pennsylvania is a local vocational technical school for students enrolled in one of four school districts in the county.

Monroe Tavern

Monroe Tavern, also known as McMasters Tavern, is a historic home that also served as an inn and tavern located at South Union Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1825, and is a 2+1⁄2-story, 5-bay, sandstone building with a center hall floor plan in an Early Republic style. It has a 2+1⁄2-story, kitchen ell. It served as a stop for 19th-century travelers on the National Road.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.