On December 8, 1972, a commercial airliner plummeted into a Chicago neighborhood, killing 43 people on board. Passenger Dorothy Hunt was the wife of a central figure in the escalating Watergate scandal.
Investigators searching the wreckage of United Airlines Flight 553 discovered she was carrying at least $10,000 in cash. Weeks earlier, she and her husband demanded continuous financial payouts from the White House. The sudden crash, the cash, and the rapid arrival of federal agents generated conspiracy theories about her role in the political crisis.
A Partnership in Intelligence and Politics
Dorothy met E. Howard Hunt while both worked for the CIA in China. By the 1970s, the couple resided near Washington, D.C.. Howard worked for Charles Colson, an aide to President Richard Nixon, joining the White House Plumbers to fix information leaks.
On June 17, 1972, Howard and G. Gordon Liddy directed a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters inside the Watergate Hotel. After a security guard caught the burglars, investigators traced a phone number found on one of the men directly to Howard.
The Demands for Financial Support
Following Howard’s indictment, Dorothy sought financial assistance for the burglars’ legal fees. She secured money from the Committee to Reelect the President, though the amounts were smaller and more erratic than the Hunts requested. In October 1972, Dorothy contacted Colson to express frustration over the interrupted payments.
Howard also called Colson, warning that “this thing must not break apart for foolish reasons”. In 2022, their son claimed Dorothy had warned she possessed evidence that would “literally blow the White House out of the water”.
The Fatal Flight to Chicago
Shortly after these confrontations, Dorothy boarded United Flight 553 from Washington, D.C., to Omaha, Nebraska. Before takeoff, she bought a $225,000 flight insurance policy. While attempting to land for a layover at Midway Airport, the plane crashed into a residential zone.
The disaster killed 43 people onboard, including CBS reporter Michelle Clark and Representative George Collins, plus two people on the ground. Dozens of FBI agents arrived at the scene shortly after the Chicago Fire Department responded.
The Unresolved Aftermath
An official report blamed the fatal crash on pilot error. Howard claimed the $10,000 cash found in the wreckage was meant for hotel investments. Following his wife’s death, Howard agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a pardon from Nixon, hoping to avoid leaving his children orphans. However, Nixon resigned in August 1974, leaving Howard to serve 33 months in prison without ever receiving a pardon.