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History: New York Air Disaster, 1960, New York City, United States
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Accident
The United plane was supposed to have been circling a point called "Preston" (near South Amboy, New Jersey) at an altitude of 5,000 feet (1,500 m) at no more than 240 miles per hour (390 km/h). United later said that a ground beacon was not working (pilots testified on both sides of the issue).
At 10:21 a.m., Flight 826 advised its company radio operator that one of its VOR receivers had stopped working (although they did not notify air traffic controllers of the problem), making it difficult to navigate in instrument conditions. At 10:25 a.m., air traffic control issued a revised clearance for the flight to shorten its course to the Preston holding point by 12 miles (19 km). The United plane overshot the holding point.
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