The Sinking of the Columbia

The Sinking of the Columbia

A routine "Moonlight Excursion" along the Illinois river in Peoria ended in disaster.

On what was supposed to be a routine "Moonlight Excursion" to Alfresco Park, a popular amusement destination along the Illinois river in Peoria, something went terribly wrong. On the return voyage to Pekin, Illinois, the Columbia ran into a dense fog covering the river. With schedule pressures the pilot pressed on through the murk. They could never have predicted what happened next.

The Sinking of the Columbia is a local public television program presented by WTVP.