Vending Machine Flight Insurance Ends

In the 1950s, travelers could purchase flight insurance from airport vending machines for as little as 25 cents. A notorious incident in 1955 highlighted the system's vulnerabilities: Jack Gilbert Graham planted a dynamite bomb in his mother's suitcase to collect $37,500 in life insurance he had just purchased at the airport. The explosion brought down United Airlines Flight 629 over Colorado, killing all 44 people on board. Following such incidents and scams, the government gradually discontinued this on-demand air insurance system.

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