On April 1, 1956, a Martin 4-0-4, registration #N40403, operating as TWA Flight 400, crashed on takeoff from Greater Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).

Twenty-two of the 36 people aboard the aircraft, including one crewmember,[1] perished in the evening crash on Easter Sunday.

As the aircraft became airborne from runway 23 (since removed), a sharp yaw was experienced while the first officer reduced power at an altitude of approximately one hundred feet (30 m).

The captain had only noted the loss of power shown by the BMEP gauge, but never saw the fire warning light; he pulled the mixture to idle cutoff.

Probable cause of the crash has been determined as: "Uncoordinated emergency action in the very short time available to the crew, which produced an aircraft configuration with insurmountable drag".