This Just In - A Visit To The Downed Jet

[+Tiffany's Slaves]

The Slaves visited Wierd NJ The Downed Jet

 

We chose to do this on our 150th cache. It's a great cache - we had read about it in Wierd NJ and had discussed it with our friends from the historical society, but we never thought we would actually see it. I'm glad we did.

However, I must say that the description of the jet's history is a little off. I'm a historian, and I know it wasn't a simple downed jet. One of our NJHHS members researched the local archives several years ago and published an article about it. This is the real story -

 

It took off from McQuire AFB in South Jersey. It was a junior officer in the Air Force who was engaged to a woman from West Milford. Even though it was a training jet for two people, he was in it alone. He ran into some trouble - drugs, or depression, or something - and went AWOL. His fiancee had just broken off their engagement and he had every intention of crashing the jet into her house. Fortunately, he couldn't see her house from the air. He was running low on gas (they figured this out later) and he kept trying to find it but for some reason it was took too long. Then suddenly he saw it and he headed straight for it - it was about halfway up Clinton Road and she was there with her whole family - but he ran out of gas and crashed there in the swamp. He was not saved and he did die.

 

When they first went to look for the downed jet, it took them a long time. The area is all swamp - in fact, it was harvested as peat moss at one point - and it is a vast bog between two mountain ridges. They sent in several exploratory parties, but with no luck. Then one of the locals, who had hunted in the area for a long time, offered to go in and look. He found it. By then the body of the officer, hanging off the branch of a tree, was somewhat infested with bugs but they salvaged what they could.

 

They also took the engine of the plane. It's pretty tame now, but afterwards strange things began to happen in that area. Ghostly lights appeared, there were strange noises (like the sound of a jet engine) and anyone who went there heard a voice that said "Mine . . . mine, mine mine." Ever since that day, they say the ghost of the officer wanders up and down Clinton Road looking for the right address.

 

Make sure to visit this cache. It's worth the treck. But don't try it in the summer - you may sink in the bog.

Edited February 28, 2005 by Tiffany's Slaves

[+Squealy]

I hope he had a permit to crash that plane there.

[+briansnat]

Stop it, you're scaring me!

[+GeoKender]

Bah!

I like TRL's story better.

[Find Now, Log Later?]

However, I must say that the description of the jet's history is a little off. I'm a historian, and I know it wasn't a simple downed jet. One of our NJHHS members researched the local archives several years ago and published an article about it. This is the real story -

How about posting the actual article? I'm disappointed an historian didn't provide a single verifiable date.

 

I checked the NTSB database for the period of 1/1/1962 (that's as far back as the database goes) and 12/31/1979. During that period, there were 149 fatal airplane-related events in NJ. None involved a jet aircraft, and none were in the West Milford area.

 

I then decided to check all non-fatal aircraft incidents/accidents in NJ from 1967-1969 (the period suggested on the cache page. It is documented that a hunter stumbled upon the jet in December 1968.) Within that three year period, there were approximately 500 events; none appear to even remotely match "The Downed Jet."

[+Squealy]

And just when you thought...

[avroair]

Can you post an online reference to the article. I haven't found any references to a downed T33 (dual-seater, the F80 a single seater).

 

Edit: All I come up with websearches are Alien / UFO sites!

Edited February 28, 2005 by avroair

[+Quest1962]

***Copied Directly from the "Weird NJ" coffee table book***

 

JET IN THE WOODS p.259

 

The most unexpected thing that we've found abandoned in the West Milford woods so far is a military fighter jet plane. Weird NJ reader Doug G. brought the crash site to our attention when he wrote to us: "I have lived in West Milford for over forty years. One morning in December some years ago, I was hunting deer in a patch of woods off Macopin Road. I saw something shining in the distance through the early morning fog. As I moved closer, I saw that it was a jet that had crashed and broken into pieces. All of the gauges were out, but the cockpit was still intact. The wings were broken off, and the tail was some fifty-five yards away. The strange part was that all the trees were all grown up around it. Everyone I spoke to after that said that they never heard of the jet in the woods."

 

Even after the original publication of Doug's letter, the origins of the Jet in the Woods remained a mystery to us for at least another year. Then we received th following letter that seemed to resolve the riddle.

 

"In a recent article in West Milford's Action News, there was a story written by retired police sergeant Bill Geander abut a Jet in the Woods. Many hikers and adventure seekers have been asking about what happened, and Geander was the first on the scene after the jet crashed in the woods near Echo Lake.

 

"It was the summer of 1967 when the West Milford police department forst got a call from residents reporting that they had witnessed a plane crash off Macopin Road. Geander and another officer jumped in the squad car to find out what happened. He was dropped off at Vreeland Cemetary after observing treetops were sheared off and smelling burning grass. He followed the trail that led to the downed plane. Although the plane was not on fire, the ground around it was.

 

"He looked into the cockpit, but no one was in it. Then he saw a dazed pilot sitting on one of the wings. The pilot said he was not injured, but he had a buddy with him in the plane. They found him thirty feet away sitting against a tree. He had injuries, but none were life-threatening.

 

"The military later took the engine out of the jet by helicopter, dropping it off at Greenwood Lake airport. They left the wreckage in the woods and painted orange X signs on the wings to mark it as a military crash site." - Bill Bassett

 

I wonder if the "Weird US" tv show has done any follow-ups on this one!

 

Any other stories?

[+Tiffany's Slaves]

The actual archive where I found this material was in the Hagley Library in Delaware, of all places. I know historical material should end up near its sources but sometimes it doesn't. They don't have this material listed in the ms catalog (it's mostly interoffice memos from McGuire) and, in fact, it's uncatalogued. I was there doing research on another topic when I found it. Since it wasn't a main issue for me I didn't copy it at 25 cents per page. So I don't have proof. I guess, like the Wizard of Oz said to Dorothy near the end of the move "I'm not a very good wizard . . . "

[Find Now, Log Later?]

I do not consider any of the "Weird NJ" publications to be reliable research material any more than I do the "Globe" or "National Enquirer." Fun to read, perhaps, but neither reliable nor terribly accurate.

 

Since the earlier post, I also checked a database of non-combat-related military aircraft accidents/incidents from 1967-1968. No matches. The fact that the event fails to appear in both databases suggests to me that even the reported date of the event is suspect.

[+BMSquared]

I do not consider any of the "Weird NJ" publications to be reliable research material any more than I do the "Globe" or "National Enquirer."  Fun to read, perhaps, but neither reliable nor terribly accurate.

 

Since the earlier post, I also checked a database of non-combat-related military aircraft accidents/incidents from 1967-1968.  No matches.  The fact that the event fails to appear in both databases suggests to me that even the reported date of the event is suspect.

Yeah, but would the NTSB or noncombat database record the crash of a military aircraft? I am (strangely) a little more inclined to believe the Weird NJ story on this one. At least there are a few dates and a name.

 

Not to knock Tiff's Slaves, but it really seems more plausible than speculating on events and motives the pilot was thinking at crash time. I have not been up there yet personally, but I plan on doing it soon. It sounds really interesting.

 

EDITED FOR TYPOS

Edited March 4, 2005 by BMSquared

[Find Now, Log Later?]

Yeah, but would the NTSB or noncombat database record the crash of a military aircraft?

Yes. The NTSB database contains information on every aircraft-related accident/incident that occurs within the United States. It also contains brief listings summarizing the factual elements of events involving aircraft of US manufacture that occured outside of the US.

[+briansnat]

Yeah, but would the NTSB or noncombat database record the crash of a military aircraft?

Yes. The NTSB database contains information on every aircraft-related accident/incident that occurs within the United States. It also contains brief listings summarizing the factual elements of events involving aircraft of US manufacture that occured outside of the US.

So its documented that no plane ever crashed there, yet there is a plane. Now I'm REALLY getting scared .

[+Packanack]

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?man...oducts_id=3605&

 

Buy the book and get the real story. Think you are scared now. Just Wait.

Edited March 5, 2005 by Packanack

[+Tiffany's Slaves]

Yeah, but would the NTSB or noncombat database record the crash of a military aircraft?

Yes. The NTSB database contains information on every aircraft-related accident/incident that occurs within the United States. It also contains brief listings summarizing the factual elements of events involving aircraft of US manufacture that occured outside of the US.

So its documented that no plane ever crashed there, yet there is a plane. Now I'm REALLY getting scared .

And this picture is of something that does not exist!

 

 

And Now I what appears to be a person behind the jet but there was nobody there when we took it! Who is this person and whay is he in the picture.