On the evening of May 22, 1962, a routine flight from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport to Kansas City turned tragic after radar contact with Continental Airlines Flight 11 was suddenly lost near the Iowa and Missouri border. Residents had reported hearing a loud boom in the sky. Soon after, airplane debris was found scattered in fields between Centerville, Iowa, and Unionville, Missouri. 

All told, eight crew members and 37 passengers — many from the Kansas City area — lost their lives in one of the deadliest air crashes in U.S. history. In a discussion of her new book Disaster at 39,000 Feet: How Small-Town America Came Together at a Time of Crisis, author Enfys McMurry details the search and rescue efforts of first responders, aviation officials, and citizen volunteers, and the subsequent investigation into the cause of the crash, which pointed to a suicide bombing by a deranged passenger. She provides first-hand accounts of how rural communities in America’s heartland rallied to help as the horrific events unfolded, and how they are impacted by the tragedy to this day. 

McMurry is a native of Wales and a 34-year citizen of the U.S. She taught English at Indian Hills Community College, Centerville Campus, for 23 years and has published three books and multiple articles in the U.S. and U.K.