Braniff International Airways Flight 542 , a Lockheed L-188 Electra , registration N9705C , was a scheduled domestic flight from Houston , Texas , bound for New York with scheduled stops in Dallas and Washington , D.C. On September 29 , 1959 , 23 minutes into the 41-minute flight from Houston to Dallas Love Field , the aircraft disintegrated Change in mid-air approximately southeast of Buffalo , Texas , killing Killing everyone on board .