On October 10, 1933, a Boeing 247 airliner operated by United Airlines and registered as crashed near Chesterton, Indiana. The transcontinental flight carried three crew and four passengers and originated in Newark, New Jersey, with its final destination in Oakland, California. It had already landed in Cleveland and was headed to its next stop in Chicago when it exploded en route. All aboard died in the crash, which was caused by an on-board explosive device. Eyewitnesses on the ground reported hearing an explosion shortly after 9 p.m. and seeing the aircraft in flames at an altitude of about . A second explosion followed after the aircraft crashed. The crash scene was adjacent to a gravel road about outside of Chesterton, centered in a wooded area on the Jackson Township farm of James Smiley.