Crash Hunting...

[+Apollo18]

A comment in the El Dorado National Forest (http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=123482) thread by Marcie/Eric got me wondering. Just how hard could it be to find a crashed aircraft?

 

My initial spot research seems to indicate that its pretty darn hard Not physically finding them, but finding enough information about them to determine the physical location. I've found a few resources (including some listings at wayfinders) by the vast majority of the information seems buried in FAA reports and the like and then you already have to have a pretty good idea of what you are looking for. Other resources give me some general latitude and longitude locations (for example 32 58N 115 48W Navy A-4), but research shows that much of that data is invalid, or is to an access point to the crash site and not the crash site itself.

 

So I was wondering, do any of you do this? And if so, where do you start? I'm not looking for exact waypoints or anything of that nature, I'm more interested in figuring out where to start from a data perspective so I can figure out where they are and what to look for when I get there.

[vagabond]

you might try googling it

Edited February 17, 2006 by vagabond

[+PassingWind]

Try these sites:

 

NTSB Aviation Accident Database

 

&

 

National Aviation Safety Data Analysis Center

 

You'll have to do some digging but you can usually find the wreckage coordinates in the preliminary reports under Wreckage & Impact Information.

 

Here's another interesting site that covers wreck archeology, WRECKCHASING.

 

More specific here's some info on SoCal Aviation Wrecks

PassingWind

[+Chuy!]

Here is another website.

 

It appears on the wreckchasing links as P.Macha.

Edited February 21, 2006 by Chuy

[+GlockGuy]

Here is an intereting thread about a crash here in Utah. It has pics linked to it to.

 

Link

[+Colorado Cacher]

Wreck Chasers! If I remember right thats what them guys are called.

[+Green Achers]

...Just how hard could it be to find a crashed aircraft?

 

It's not that hard. I found this one! Black Box.

 

Here's some more local divits that I'd like to find...

Union City, Ca. DC-6B (Flight 615)

Danville, Ca. C-45F

Mt. Tamalpias, Ca. F4U Corsair

Mt. Tamalpias, Ca. PBM-5 Mariner

Perhaps Mt. Tamalpias shouldn't have been installed in the glide path!

803 N. Linden Dr; 805 N. Linden Dr; 808 Whittier Dr; of Los Angeles, Ca. XF-11

San Ramon, Ca. F-27A (Flight 773)

Sacramento, Ca. F-86

It's pritty sad when an Ice Cream story needs to have a Fire Sale!

 

And I remember when this happened...

Concord, Ca. Beechraft 95-A55

Edited March 3, 2006 by Green Achers

[+Marcie/Eric]

...Just how hard could it be to find a crashed aircraft?

Sacramento, Ca. F-86

It's pritty sad when an Ice Cream story needs to have a Fire Sale!

 

I wasn't alive when this happened, but my mom drove me by the place when I was a kid. She told me that that was where a plane had crashed into the Ice cream joint and killed a bunch of kids. Quite sad. I'm not sure what it is now.

[+TeamGuisinger]

Here http://coloradowreckchasing.tripod.com/ they're all there.

[kwspony]

I heard somewhere that there is a crash site up above Wrights lake on the Barrett Lake trail. Anyone heard of it?

[+Marcie/Eric]

I heard somewhere that there is a crash site up above Wrights lake on the Barrett Lake trail. Anyone heard of it?

 

I know of one up that way. Not sure if its the one you speak of. Check out this thread.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=123482

 

I was given specific instructions on how to get to it, and the coords for such. I was also given a subtle hint not to pass it on. You can find it if you cross reference some maps, or just do some searching. Not accesible by car, and its an all day hike.

 

Theres also a huge discussion about crash hunting in another thread...

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=119332

Edited March 14, 2006 by Marcie/Eric

[kwspony]

Thanks for the info. The 4x4 club I am in have talked about trying to find it. Maybe that will help.

[+ClarksJeepn]

Might be a bit ourside your search range but interesting none-the-less... TWA Canyon Cache GC2063 and Yet Another TWA Cache GCV73Y.

On February 19, 1955 at 7:31 am TWA flight 260 in route from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Santa Fe, New Mexico crashed into the Sandia Mountains shortly after take off killing all 13 passengers and 3 crew members on board. Due to the complex mountainous terrain a day after several members of the New Mexico Mountain Club, along with other volunteers assisted the New Mexico State Police were assembled to assist in the recovery efforts leading to the formation of the Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council, http://www.abqmountainrescue.org/, a voluntary organization still active today. Wreckage from the craft still remains, http://www.walenz.org/bri/19991024-Hike-TWACanyon/, although believed to be moved out of view of the Sandia Tram, http://www.sandiapeak.com/, a popular are tourist attraction active since 1965. Original cause blamed the pilots of “intentionally flying the plane into the mountain” but, 5 years latter changed the probable cause to “deviation from course for reasons unknown” with speculation that the flux gauge compass may have malfunctioned.

[+TEAM 360]

Original cause blamed the pilots of “intentionally flying the plane into the mountain” but, 5 years latter changed the probable cause to “deviation from course for reasons unknown” with speculation that the flux gauge compass may have malfunctioned.

 

Airlines rule of thumb:

Pilots live=plane malfunctioned.

Pilots die=pilot error. No one around to say otherwise.

 

Good luck finding coords on wrecks...they are like a national secret, no one wants to give up the coords...wreckchasing.com is of NO help at all when it comes to locating them...