Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of the American West

C-46F
1/6/53

On January 6, 1953, Flight 1-6-6a, a Curtiss C-46F Commando, crashed 8 miles west of Fish Haven, ID..  The C-46F, operated by Associated Air Transport, was en route from Seattle, WA, to Fort Jackson, NC.  On board were the pilot, co-pilot, a 21-year -old stewardess on her first flight, and 37 soldiers returning home from the Korean War.  Encountering severe turbulence and wing icing near the Idaho-Wyoming border, the pilot decided to turn around and make an emergency landing at Malad, Idaho.  Before reaching Malad, the aircraft struck trees on an 8500 ft. ridge top and plummeted into the canyon below.  All on board were killed.  The area was not accessible due to snow, so armed military guards were placed at the site until June 1953 when the recovery process was completed.  Today most of the wreckage has been removed and it is a micro-site, visited on 9/14/13.