Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of the American West

RF-4C
11/12/70

On the morning of November 12, 1970, McDonnell-Douglas RF-4C #65-0860, with the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, took off on a reconnaissance training mission.  At the controls was Major Carleton K. Sprague, age 44, of Bangor, Maine, and in the back seat was navigator Captain Terrence M. Andrews, age 25, from Summit, New Jersey.  While flying on instruments in a snow storm, the Phantom II struck an 8000 ft. ridge top near Oakley, Idaho, destroying the aircraft and killing both men.  The aircraft was listed as missing for seven months, until it was discovered in June 1971 by a rancher, after the snow melted.  Maj. Carleton “Speed”  Sprague was a veteran of World War II, Korea, and had flown over 250 mission in Vietnam.  He was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with ten Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.  Special thanks to Marc Shadden for help with locating this crash site.  Site visited 10/9/15.

Maj. Carleton "Speed" Sprague stands on a ladder next to the cockpit of an RF-4C Phantom II.	Capt. Terrence M. Andrews in his Class of 1967 graduation photo at College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, Massachusetts.