Merriam Press Aviation History Series 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
