TWA Flight 529 Memorial

On September 1st, 1961, at 2:00 am, TWA Flight 529 took off from Chicago’s Midway Airport for the last leg of its cross-country journey. Originating in Boston, Flight 529 had already stopped in New York, Pittsburgh, and Chicago, with its next scheduled stop being Las Vegas before continuing to Los Angeles.

Shortly after takeoff, the plane (a Lockheed Constellation L-049 prop liner) pitched up and stalled out. Unable to be brought back under control, the plane crashed at 2:05 am in a cornfield in what is now Willowbrook, Illinois. Though first responders were on the scene within minutes, they found no survivors. All 73 passengers and 5 crew members on board were killed, including entire families. Miraculously, no houses were hit. The cause of the crash was determined to be a 5/16 mm bolt in the elevator boost that had fallen out prior to takeoff.

Though it was the deadliest plane disaster at the time, it started to become forgotten as the years passed. Determined to make sure the victims would be remembered, a small group of locals came together and organized the creation of a permanent memorial. 

On the 60th anniversary of the crash, September 1st, 2021, a permanent memorial was dedicated to the victims and the first responders. The memorial is a black granite block. The names of the victims as well as the story of Flight 529 are engraved on the front. The backside contains tributes to the first responders and volunteer fire departments who helped with the aftermath.