Episode 185: The Sabotage of Flight 629

On today’s episode, Kate and Paul investigate the 1955 bombing of United Airlines Flight 629, which exploded over Colorado shortly after takeoff. As investigators work to determine what brought the plane down, the evidence points to something far more deliberate than an accident.

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Sources:

Anastasio, Jeff. “70 Years Later: A Place to Reflect, Honor Victims of United 629 Plane Bombing.” Denver 7. November 3, 2025. https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/70-years-later-a-place-to-reflect-honor-victims-of-united-629-plane-bombing

Civil Aeronautics Board. Investigation of Aircraft Accident: United Airlines, Longmont, Colorado, November 1, 1955. National Transportation Library. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/33539

Field, Andrew J. Mainliner Denver: The Bombing of Flight 629. Johnson Books, 2005.

Garrison, Robert. “A ‘Scene of Death and Horror’: The Night a Son Blew Up His Mother’s Flight Over Colorado.” Denver 7. November 1, 2019. Updated October 31, 2024. https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/a-scene-of-death-and-horror-the-night-a-son-blew-up-his-mothers-flight-over-colorado

"Jack Gilbert Graham." FBI Famous Cases (blog). https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/jack-gilbert-graham

O’Toole, Erin and Brad Turner. “Few Remember the 1955 Bombing of a Dener Flight. A New Exhibit and a Proposed Memorial May Change That.” KUNC. March 26, 2025. https://www.kunc.org/podcast/inthenoco/2025-03-26/few-remember-the-1955-bombing-of-a-denver-flight-a-new-exhibit-and-a-proposed-memorial-may-change-that

Rassenfoss, Joe. “The Sabotage of United Flight 629.” History Colorado. October 29, 2025. https://www.historycolorado.org/story/2025/10/29/sabotage-united-flight-629