On the afternoon of August 15, 1959, the Boeing 707 operating the flight crashed near the Calverton airport, killing all five crew members aboard.

The Calverton airfield was used frequently by American Airlines for training purposes for crew members on 707s, and was known then as the Grumman Aircraft Corp.

[3] The 707 departed Idlewild at 1:40pm, accomplished high altitude air work after takeoff to permit sufficient fuel burn-off for airport transition training which was planned at Calverton, and arrived there around 3:11pm.

The crew reported on left base leg for Runway 23, was given clearance to land, and was informed that the wind was from 230 degrees at 10 to 15 knots (12 to 17 mph; 19 to 28 km/h).

Investigation revealed the aircraft struck the ground in a wings-level attitude, in a nearly stalled condition, yawed to the left approximately 12 degrees, with considerable and nearly symmetrical power.

Eventually, a large crowd gathered at the crash site as word spread over radio and television newscasts, and people drove from resorts and towns in the area to see the wreckage.

On February 5, 1960, Boeing issued a service bulletin for an improved rudder modification which adds boost power to the wider ranges of directional movement, and gives increased control capability at low airspeeds and minimum gross weight.