On Dec. 1, 1974, a Northwest Orient Airlines Boeing 727 flying between Kennedy International Airport and Buffalo Niagara International Airport encountered atmospheric icing and crashed in Harriman State Park in Stony Point. Flight 6231 was operating a ferry flight, having been chartered to pick up the Baltimore Colts football team in Buffalo. All three crew members on board died in the crash.
More than 40 years later, family members, friends and former colleagues from across the nation will gather at the crash site to dedicate a memorial marker and garden in honor of those killed in the accident.
The ceremony will include remarks from relatives, retired Northwest personnel who flew aboard the aircraft that day, active Delta Air Lines employees and local first responders who participated in the search, rescue and recovery efforts. The 1974 accident and subsequent federal investigation prompted changes in cockpit design and advancements in commercial pilot training still practiced by airlines today.
Organizations participating in the event include the Historical Society of the Palisades Interstate Park Region, the Historical Society of Rockland County, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, Rockland Road Runners.org and Rockland County.
Fundraising efforts for the memorial continue via The Historical Society of the Palisades Interstate Park Region, P.O. Box 243, Tomkins Cove, N.Y. 10986.
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