On February 12, 1963 a Northwest Orient Airlines Boeing 720B commercial airliner crashed deep in the Florida Everglades. The plane was a Boeing model slightly smaller than the 707. The 720B was most often used for short trips. More than 100 of them were in use in 1963. At takeoff the aircraft flew into skies filled with thunderstorms and rain squalls. The pilot asked permission to climb to a recommended 25,000 feet. Soon fishermen in the Everglades noticed what appeared to be a giant fireball on the edge of a storm cloud. It was hours before the fate of the plane's 8 crew members and 35 passengers was known.