On October 10, 1933, the Boeing 247 airliner serving the flight, registered as NC13304[1], exploded and crashed near Chesterton, Indiana, United States, en route from Cleveland to Chicago.

The accident site was adjacent to a gravel road about 5 miles (8 km) outside of Chesterton, centered in a wooded area on the Jackson Township farm of James Smiley.

The tail section had been severed just aft of the toilet and was found mostly intact, with two of the victims' bodies nearby,[3] almost a mile away from the main wreckage.

"[5] Dr. Carl Davis of the Porter County coroner's office[6] and experts from the Crime Detection Laboratory at Northwestern University[4][7] examined evidence from the accident and concluded that it was caused by a bomb, with nitroglycerin as the probable explosive.

[4] Investigators found a rifle in the wreckage, but they determined that a passenger carried it aboard as luggage, as he was en route to a shoot at Chicago's North Shore Gun Club.