Merriam Press Aviation History 6

First Edition (2014)

Aircraft wreck hunting better known as "Wreckchasing" among its thousands of new enthusiasts is a budding hobby throughout the entire United States and many European countries today. There has always been a strong interest in aviation but the intrigue with old historical aircraft is bringing that interest to the deserts and mountains in search of the remains of rare old aircraft that are seldom seen anymore. Some efforts have been made in the past to recover and restore some of these rare old aircraft wrecks for museums and back to flying status, but new efforts are being made to declare these as historical artifacts and preserve the remains on site.

This second volume reports the findings of aviation wreckologists to examine the crash sites of military and civilian aircraft in the Pacific Northwest. There are 36 chapters, each covering an aircraft crash, the search and rescue efforts of each, what happened to the pilots and crews, and present day examination of the sites and remains of the aircraft.

Contents

Hudson Bomber Lost In Heavy Snow Storm Hits Mountain Ridge

The January, 1941 B-18 Crash on Rockies Peak

Spinning Lockheed P-38 Fighter Plane Impacts the Desert Floor near Christmas Valley

"Lady of the Lake" Douglas B-23 Loon Lake, Idaho

The Missing Crew of PV-1 Ventura 49459

Pre-War B-18 Crash on Mt. Constance

A Twin Tragedy in the Olympic Mountains

Flight below Minimum Safe Altitude Dooms Grumman A-6 Intruder near Christmas Valley

Flight of Decommissioned B-24s Meets Tragedy near Ryderwood

Air Traffic Control Error Descends Air Force C-141 into Mt. Constance

Efforts to Clear Mountain Ridge at Night Ends the Lives of Eleven B-24 Liberator Crewmembers on Pueblo Mountains Summit

Desert War Relics

High Winds Drift U.S. Marines R5C Commando into the Face of Mt. Rainier's South Tahoma Glacier

P4Y-2 59937 Lost In Mysterious Cascade Mountain Accident

Catastrophic Engine Failure Leads to P-39 Airacobra Crash near Ephrata

Search Attack Mission for a Shark-Tailed B-17B 17 December 1941

Martin B-26 on Instrument Flight Hits Oregon's Mt. Hood

Excavating the "Brown Lady," a Distressed B-17F

An Act of God: B-25D 41-29836 May 10, 1943

Airacobra Experiences Engine Failure Immediately After Takeoff and Crashes

Navigation Error Claims Grumman A-6 Intruder near Steamboat, Oregon

Flame-Out Causes F-102 Crash near Cloverdale, Oregon

The South Mountain P4Y-2 Tragedy

B-17 Bomber Loses Right Wing after Experiencing Engine Fire

Avro Lancaster KB995 Found on Oregon's Iron Mountain

The Forgotten Crew of Dauntless 36638

A Navy Monument: For a Lost PBY-5A

Error of Judgment: North Bend's "Little Known" Avenger Accident

The Mt. Rainier A-24

Radio Range Navigation Error Leads to Crash of B-17E Flying Fortress 41-2559 in Oregon's Blue Mountains

TBF Avenger 06090 Lost In Olympic Mountains

Northwest Airlines Lockheed Electra model 10-A Lost in Mountains near Kellogg, Idaho

Formation of P-38 Lightning Fighter Planes Collide with Clouded Mountain Top near Battle Mountain Park, Oregon

Pilot of Starfighter Forced to Eject After Engine Fire Warning

Five Seconds to Spare: Pilot Bails Out of P-39 Airacobra

Test Flight of P-63 Kingcobra: Results are Structural Failure

Appendix I: Washington State Crash Locator List

Appendix II: Oregon Crash Locator List

Appendix III: Idaho Crash Locator List

427 color and 63 B&W photos