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Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of the American West Picture Archive 5
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Patric J. Macha with structure from Beechcraft
18/C-45 that crashed in the Verdugo Mountains near Burbank, CA on 3/18/45.
Both crewmen were killed in this weather related accident. Matt Maxon found
the crash site, one of a number in the Verdugos that he has visited. |
In
December 1972
Elgin
F. "Butch" Gates located the bailout point and ejection seat from a North
American F-100C 54-2078 USAF that had crashed on
3/6/64, twenty three miles WSW of Needles in the
Piute Mts. Butch's younger brother Robert stands on the ejection seat.
Following this remarkable find they went on to locate the crash site itself.
Scattered wreckage of 54-2078 remains visible to this day. |
Crash site of USN Douglas
A-4 Skyhawk in Panamint Valley. Date of loss and accident details are
unknown. One source indicates mid-60's another states possibly 1961. Any
help with the details appreciated. |
 About 3% to 5% of this widely scattered wreck remains. This appears to have been a fatal accident based on artifacts observed on my visitation of 10/13/06. Special thanks to Tom Gossett for his help in locating this site. |
View of the accident
site of Bell/Textron AH-1T USMC that crashed in poor weather on 11/14/86.
Sadly both crewmen died in the crash. The impact area is just above the
saddle on the south east slope of 3,273' Sitton Peak in the Cleveland National
Forest. The Sea Cobra crew almost made it through the saddle. We are very
sorry they did not. |
 USFS Ranger Debra Clarke views the rotor blade from the AH-1T just below the main impact area. Besides the rotor blade only a few small parts remain at this site which is located 4.7 miles from the nearest trail head. My trip was made possible to this wreck site on 11/03/06 by Ranger Clarke and Orange County Park Ranger Tom Maloney. |
Pat J.
Macha stands with wreckage from Lockheed P-38L #44-24790 USAAF that crashed
following a mid-air collision with another P-38L on 2/12/45. Sadly both
pilots were killed in this combat training accident. |
 On 11/13/46 Western Airlines DC-3 NC-18645 en route from Las Vegas, NV to Burbank, CA crashed into White Mountain killing nine passengers and the crew of three.
The crash
site is still visible today SW of Pyramid Lake in the Los Padres National
Forest. The wreck was not discovered until 11/15, and the first rescue team
did not reach the crash site until
11/18/46.
Weather was a factor in this accident. |
In May 2007 Harley Brogdon took a hike
into a remote area east of Forest Home and found a landing gear leg and
engine cylinder head. What he found is from a Vought F4U-1D BuNo 82818 USN
that crashed on 8/10/45 killing Ensign Elbert Wayne Weaver USNR. The wreck
was not located until 9/17/45 when two teenage boys took a hike following a
flash flood and found aircraft wreckage and human remains. The widely
scattered remains of BuNo 82818 remain to this day in the wild and rugged
San Bernardino Mountains. (photo by G. Pat Macha) |
 The rusted and corroded landing gear leg section from Vought F4U-1D BuNo 82818 as seen on 6/26/07. The team that reached this component included Tom Maloney, Pete Armes, Chris LeFave, Pat J. Macha, and G. Pat Macha. (G.P. Macha photo) |
 Not all searches are successful, but surprises are common, especially in the desert. We did not find the plane, but we did find this practice bomb aft casing and it was not on or near a bombing a range. |
On 3/15/45
Two men survived the crash of a Talorcraft light aircraft on Vetter Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains. They were in route from Idaho to Los Angeles when they
ran out of fuel when the accident occurred. Photo G.P. Macha collection.
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Posted 9/3/22