Golden West Airlines Flight 261

About

Golden West Airlines Flight 261, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, collided with a Cessna 150 (N11421), owned by CessnAir Aviation, Inc., near Whittier, California. The accident occurred on January 9, 1975, at approximately 4:07 p.m. PST, while the Sun was just 9 degrees above the western horizon, directly into the eyes of the pilots of GW flight 261.

Both aircraft were destroyed by the collision and subsequent ground impact. The 10 passengers and 2 pilots on the Twin Otter, and the instructor pilot and student pilot in the Cessna 150 were killed. Debris fell on homes and lawns but no one on the ground was injured. The wreckage of both aircraft was scattered over an 8 to 10 city block area. The fuselage of the Twin Otter fell into the schoolyard of Katherine Edwards Middle School, where about 300 spectators were watching an outdoor basketball game, while the wings landed two blocks away. The fuselage of the Cessna fell in the front yard of a house, about two blocks from the Otter fuselage.