Deadliest crash involving birds: Boston, 1960

The crash and remarkable survival of everyone aboard a US Airways flight yesterday in the frigid waters of the Hudson River after striking a flock of birds brought back startling memories of a similar crash of an airliner from Logan International Airport in 1960.

On Oct. 4, 1960, 62 people died when Eastern Airlines Flight 375 plunged wing-first into Boston Harbor after flying into a flock of birds shortly after takeoff. It was the first commercial airline crash in Logan Airport's history, the deadliest air disaster in New England history at the time, and it remains the most deadly crash in US history involving a bird strike.

Nine of the 10 survivors had serious injuries.

The Eastern Airlines Lockheed Electra four-engine turbo-prop airliner had 72 people aboard and was bound for Atlanta. The plane flew into a flock of starlings at an altitude of 400 feet. Three engines lost power, and the plane stalled and spun, crashed into water 200 yards offshore, and broke in half.

The Eastern Airlines accident led to sweeping national changes and new standards for dealing with bird and wildlife strikes, after a process that included firing dead birds into airplane engines to see how much they could handle. But the Federal Aviation Administration reports that at least 122 civil aircraft have been destroyed and more than 255 civilian lives have been lost worldwide due to wildlife strikes from 1960 to 2004.

Globe correspondent Matt Byrne contributed to this report. John Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com