TWA Flight 260 was the Trans World Airlines (TWA) designation for a flight from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico. On February 19, 1955, the 40-passenger Martin 4-0-4 prop plane used by TWA for that route crashed into the Sandia Mountains. Its deviation from the normal flight path, initially believed to be the result of pilot error, was revised to "unknown" given that the contribution of other factors could not be definitively ruled out. History On February 19, 1955 at 7:03 am, TWA flight 260 en route from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico received an IFR clearance from the Albuquerque tower ("ATC clears TWA 260 for approach at the Santa Fe Airport via Victor 19 climb northbound on the back course of the ILS localizer"). There were no further communications after the aircraft took off at 7:05. It was last seen in a high-speed shallow climb toward the cloud-shrouded Sandia Crest at an estimated altitude of 3,000 feet above ground level. At 7:13 the flight crashed into Sandia Mountain killing all 13 passengers and three crew members on board instantly. Authorities were not aware of the crash until the next morning when a cargo pilot spotted the wreckage. Due to the complex mountainous terrain, several members of the New Mexico Mountain Club, along with other volunteers, assisted the New Mexico State Police in the recovery efforts. This later led to the formation of the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council, a volunteer organization still active today. Wreckage from the craft still remains, and can still be seen on brightly lit days by riders on the Sandia Peak Tramway, a popular tourist attraction active since 1966. The location is locally referred to as "TWA Canyon". The initial Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Accident Investigation Report was released on October 12, 1955. Originally the cause was believed to be that the pilots were “intentionally flying the plane into the mountain”. This initial CAB "probable cause" adopted a widespread rumor: it implied a "suicide pact" between the two airline pilots. An amended accident report (second version) was released by CAB on August 26, 1957, which deleted the word "intentional". After much effort by Captain Larry DeCelles, working cooperatively with the CAB's investigators to understand pilot reports about latent faults in a fluxgate compass appearing only after extended intervals with turn bank-angle, the CAB finally issued its third version of the report