Pacific Air Freighter, Martin 404 (N40438)
By November 1979, the operator of this aircraft (N40438), whose first flight was in 1952, was Nevada Airlines. It had been chartered for a tourist flight to the Grand Canyon. When it was taking off for the return flight to Las Vegas, essentially a combination of downdraft and turbulence brought the plane down to a forced landing just over a mile past the end of the runway. There were no fatalities (it sounds like a miracle) but the plane was destroyed by fire post-impact. Unused internet card. Grade: 1