American Airlines Flight 320 was a scheduled flight between Chicago Midway International Airport and New York City's LaGuardia Airport. On February 3, 1959, the Lockheed L-188 Electra performing the flight crashed into the East River during its descent and approach to LaGuardia Airport, killing 65 of the 73 people on board. Weather conditions in the area were poor, which meant that the crew had to descend through dense clouds and fog. The aircraft flew lower than the pilots intended and it crashed into the icy river short of the runway at a speed of . American Airlines had been flying the newly-developed Lockheed Electra in commercial service for only about two weeks before the accident. Eyewitnesses to the accident reported that the aircraft was flying significantly lower than was normal for planes approaching the airport, but surviving flight crew members claimed that the aircraft's instruments had told them that the flight was operating at normal, safe altitudes right up to the moment of impact. An investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that mistakes by the flight crew, the flight crew's inexperience flying the type of aircraft, and poor weather conditions were the causes of the crash. The Air Line Pilots Association contested the conclusion, countering that the crash was caused by faulty instruments and poor weather conditions, not by any mistakes made by the highly experienced flight crew. Accident American Airlines Flight 320 was a regularly-scheduled flight between Chicago and New York City using one of the company's newly obtained Lockheed L-188 Electra turbine propeller aircraft. The airline had first started flying the new aircraft in commercial service on January 23, 1959, and it offered six daily round-trip flights on its routes between New York and Chicago, with plans to expand to other routes once Lockheed was able to deliver more of the new aircraft. On the evening of February 3, 1959, the flight was scheduled to leave Chicago's Midway Airport, but wind-driven snow delayed its departure. The flight was eventually airborne at 9:54p.m. EDT, fifty-four minutes late, and was one of the last flights to depart Chicago that evening before the airport was closed due to the storm. Sixty-eight passengers and five crew members were aboard, and the trip was expected to take one hour and forty-two minutes. The flight to the New York City area was uneventful, with the aircraft operating on automatic pilot and cruising at