Mid-air collision between Douglas Aircraft Company non-commercial test flight of DC-7B airliner, N8210H, c/n 45192/764, out of Santa Monica Municipal Airport (intended customer - Continental Airlines), struck by Northrop F-89J Scorpion, 52-1870A, c/n 4447, out of Palmdale, California with companion target F-89J, 53-2516A too far ahead to witness incident, all at . Scorpion, coming out of 90-degree turn, struck the DC-7B almost head-on at 1118 hrs., ~1-2 miles NE of the Hansen Dam spillway, severing ~8 1/2 feet of the transport's port wing outboard of station 613. The DC-7B continues on a westward heading for ~4 miles (6 km) before coming down. The aircraft broke up, above the ground, and seconds later the wreckage impacted in the courtyard of the Pacoima Congregational Church near the corner of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Terra Bella Street, near Sunland, California, killing all four crew. The CAB accident report states that At 1118 activity in the Douglas radio room was interrupted by an emergency transmission from N 8210H. The voices were recognized by radio personnel familiar with the crew members. Pilot Cart first transmitted, 'Uncontrollable,' Copilot Twitchell then said, 'We're a midair collision - midair collision, 10 How (aircraft identification using phonetic How for H) we are going in - uncontrollable - uncontrollable - we are ... we've had it boy - poor jet too - told you we should take chutes - say goodbye to everybody.' Radio Operator Nakazawas voice was recognized and he concluded the tragic message with, 'We are spinning in the valley.' This final transmission from the flight is presented because it contained important information relative to the accident investigation. It not only establishes the midair collision but also indicates the DC-7 was rendered uncontrollable. It further indicates that Mr. Twitchell at least recognized the aircraft with which they collided as a jet. Further, the DC-7 spun during its descent to the ground. Airliner impacted across the street from Pacoima Junior High School - debris killed three students and injured some 74 others. Following collision, Curtiss A. Adams, 27, radarman aboard the e.b. F-89J, ejected, despite incurring serious burns, and parachuted, landing in Burbank. Pilot Roland E. Owen, 36, died in the burning fighter which impacted into La Tuna Canyon in the Verdugo Mountains. All four Scorpion crew were Northrop employees. Co-pilot on the DC-7, veteran flier Archie R. Twitchell, 50, enjoyed a secondary career as an actor between flying stints and appeared in over 100 films, including Union Pacific, I Wanted Wings, Among the Living, Out of the Past, Fort Apache, I Shot Billy The Kid and Sunset Boulevard among others. The other DC-7B crew were pilot William G. Carr, 36; flight engineer Waldo B. Adams, 42; and radio operator Roy T. Nakazawa, 28. Collision was blamed on pilot error: Failure of both aircraft crews to exercise proper see and avoid procedures regarding other aircraft while operating under visual flight rules (VFR). The catastrophe prompted the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to set restrictions on all aircraft test flights, both military and civilian, requiring that they be made over open water or specifically approved sparsely populated areas.