Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114

{{short description|U.S. air crash}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox aircraft occurrence

| name=Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114

| image = Bonanza Air Lines Fairchild F-27A Proctor-1.jpg

| caption = The accident aircraft in January 1959 with old registration

| Crash image=

| Date=November 15, 1964

| Type=Controlled flight into terrain

| occurrence_type =Accident

| Site=Clark County, {{convert|2.7|mi}} west of Sloan, Nevada

| Coordinates={{coord|35.9405|N|115.2647|W|display=inline,title|region:US_type:event}}

| Fatalities=29

| Injuries=

| aircraft_type=Fairchild F-27

| Operator=Bonanza Air Lines

| tail_number=N745L (formerly N145L)

| Passengers=26

| Crew=3

| Survivors=0

|alt=|missing=|aircraft_name=|origin=Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport|stopover=|stopover0=|last_stopover=|destination=McCarran International Airport|image_upright=}}

Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114 was a Fairchild F-27 turboprop airliner flying out of Phoenix, Arizona, to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the evening of November 15, 1964.[https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-fairchild-f-27a-near-las-vegas-29-killed Incident summary at baa-acro.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629205131/https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-fairchild-f-27a-near-las-vegas-29-killed |date=June 29, 2021}}

At 8:25 p.m., during a landing approach in poor weather conditions, it crashed into the top of a hill in open desert country about {{convert|8|mi}} SSW of Las Vegas. All 29 aboard—26 passengers and a crew of three—died instantly when the plane exploded on impact, no more than 10 feet (3 m) below a ridge crest.{{cite web

| last=Bates

| first=Warren

| url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1999/Nov-15-Mon-1999/news/12342681.html

| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030508061426/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1999/Nov-15-Mon-1999/news/12342681.html

| archivedate=2003-05-08

| title=Hunt for Lost F-27

| work=reviewjournal.com

| publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal

| date=November 15, 1999

| accessdate=2009-10-31

}}

Although this was not the only incident involving a Bonanza Air Lines airplane, it is the only crash with fatalities during the airline's 23-year history.[https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/operators/5119 Bonanza Air Lines accidents and incidents] at the Aviation Safety Network

Media reports initially stated that 28 had died,{{cite news

| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bBgQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jYoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6638,3978305

| agency=Associated Press

| date=November 16, 1964

| title=Plane Crash Takes Lives Of 28 People

| work=The Free-Lance Star

| page=1

| accessdate=2009-10-31

}} but these were corrected when the body of a very young girl was found amid the debris.{{cite news

| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sW8KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=J0sDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5399%2C1997187

| agency=Associated Press

| date=November 17, 1964

| title=Bodies Recovered At Air Crash Site

| work=The Victoria Advocate

| page=1

| accessdate=2009-10-31

}} The rugged terrain and snowdrifts surrounding the crash site initially prevented ground vehicles from reaching the wreckage, so four helicopters assisted in the recovery efforts. Eventually a narrow, unimproved road one mile long that climbs up a ridge and terminates at the hilltop crash site was built to assist in salvage operations; it can still be seen in current aerial photos.{{cite web|url=http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=35.94063,-115.26448&z=16&t=S&marker0=35.94061%2C-115.26448%2C4.3%20km%20W%20of%20Sloan%20NV |title=ACME Mapper aerial view of crash site |publisher=Mapper.acme.com |date= |accessdate=2013-07-01}}

Pilot Henry "Hank" Fitzpatrick, a veteran with over 11,000 hours experience, was initially blamed for flying too low due to misreading the approach chart for McCarran International, but an investigation years later showed that the chart was marked in a non-standard, and possibly confusing, manner.{{cite journal

| url=https://openjurist.org/642/f2d/339/aetna-casualty-and-surety-company-v-jeppesen-and-company

| title=Aetna v. Jeppesen lawsuit, appeal ruling

| website=openjurist.org

| date=April 20, 1981

| volume=F2d

| issue=642

| page=339

| accessdate=2009-10-31

}} Some heirs of the crash victims sued the publisher of the chart, but before a verdict was reached in the wrongful death lawsuit the chart company, Jeppesen, agreed to pay the plaintiffs US$490,000.{{ASN accident|id=19641115-0}}