On January 28, 1961, the Boeing 707 operating the flight crashed out of control into the Atlantic Ocean 9.5 miles (15.3 km) west of Montauk Point, New York, and all six crew on board were killed.

[4] At 12:20 p.m. EDT (UTC−4), Airman First Class James F. Ross was driving on the Montauk Highway and caught Flight 1502 passing overhead at an estimated 100 feet (30 m), in a 60–70° dive.

Also present on the highway was Captain Frank Ward, a local fisherman from Montauk who said the aircraft did multiple rolls, straightening out before impact, and that an engine was reportedly on fire.

[1] Emergency crews rushed to the scene to find the aircraft extensively fragmented, with some seats reportedly split in half by the force of the crash.

[6] The crash was the fourth involving a modern jetliner in the New York metropolitan area in the past two years, amounting to a total 149 lives lost.