Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 crashes into the Everglades shortly after takeoff from Miami International Airport, killing all 45 people on board.
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 was a scheduled passenger flight operated on February 12, 1963, that broke up in midair and crashed into the Florida Everglades shortly after takeoff from Miami International Airport in a severe thunderstorm. The plane was destined for Portland, Oregon, via Chicago, Spokane, and Seattle.
Everglades
The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee. Water leaving the lake in the wet season forms a slow-moving river 60 miles (97 km) wide and over 100 miles (160 km) long, flowing southward across a limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state. The Everglades experiences a wide range of weather patterns, from frequent flooding in the wet season to drought in the dry season. Throughout the 20th century, the Everglades suffered significant loss of habitat and environmental degradation.
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport, also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary international airport serving Miami and its surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Florida. It hosts over 1,000 daily flights to 185 domestic and international destinations, including most countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean. The airport is in an unincorporated area in Miami-Dade County, Florida, 8 miles (13 km) west-northwest of downtown Miami, in metropolitan Miami, adjacent to the cities of Miami and Miami Springs, and the village of Virginia Gardens. Nearby cities include Hialeah, Doral, and the census-designated place of Fontainebleau.
February 12
February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 322 days remain until the end of the year.