Upcoming Aviation Archaeology Projects Galleries

August 17, 1983, Las Vegas Airlines, Inc., Piper PA-31-350 (N88LV) Grand Canyon, AZ : Las Vegas Airlines Flight 88 originated from North Las Vegas Airport on the morning of August 17, 1983. N88LV was a Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain with a pilot and nine tourists traveling to the Grand Canyon Airport. ********************************************************************************** Wreckage can be seen from the air lying on a 45 degree slope. The main body of wreckage consists of the tail section along with a portion of the left wing. Although the crash site lies within the Grand Canyon, the land itself is governed by the Hualapai Indian Nation and access can only be granted by tribal permission. The airspace over the site is also restricted by current FAA SFRA Airspace Restrictions.

August 17, 1983, Las Vegas Airlines, Inc., Piper PA-31-350 (N88LV) Grand Canyon, AZ

Las Vegas Airlines Flight 88 originated from North Las Vegas Airport o ...

Updated: Nov 22, 2008 12:57pm PST

Unknown wreckage scatter in Western Grand Canyon : I caught sight of shiny metallic reflections of metal on a recent air tour flight over the remote western section of the Grand Canyon. Located at: N35*59.94' W113*45.12' A low pass revealed numerous unidentifiable fragments scattered on top of the mesa as well as a visible impact scar extending west to east. Nothing identifiable as to type of aircraft. No painted surfaces. I have not seen any wreckage on the rim of the mesa indicating that the aircraft hit the rim first. I have been told by long-time canyon pilots that it might be a T-37 trainer. Currently unknown. There are no roads or trails in the vicinity and technical climbing experience would be required to reach the site. Helicopter is the best way to approach it and was considered, but access is restricted due to current SFRA airspace restrictions. Crash site is within the national park boundries. (Click photos to enlarge)

Unknown wreckage scatter in Western Grand Canyon

I caught sight of shiny metallic reflections of metal on a recent air ...

Updated: Jul 24, 2008 5:58pm PST

September 30, 1983, US Navy, Grumman A-6E Intruder Black Mountains, AZ : This accident happened at night in bad weather on 9/30/83. The jet impacted terrain near Oatman, AZ., killing the two crewmembers.

September 30, 1983, US Navy, Grumman A-6E Intruder Black Mountains, AZ

This accident happened at night in bad weather on 9/30/83. The jet imp ...

Updated: Dec 17, 2008 5:36pm PST

December 9, 1956, Trans Canada Airlines (TCA), Canadair DC-4M2 North Star () Mt. Slesse B.C. Canada : Yes, the crash site is really up there!

December 9, 1956, Trans Canada Airlines (TCA), Canadair DC-4M2 North Star () Mt. Slesse B.C. Canada

Yes, the crash site is really up there!

Updated: Sep 27, 2008 2:30am PST

September 18, 1944, USAAF, Boeing B-17G (42-102899) Bear Jaw Canyon, San Francisco Peaks, AZ :

September 18, 1944, USAAF, Boeing B-17G (42-102899) Bear Jaw Canyon, San Francisco Peaks, AZ

Updated: Oct 04, 2008 5:54pm PST

October 16, 1971, Scenic Airlines Inc., Cessna 402 (N3250Q) Grand Canyon, AZ : ACCIDENT SYNOPSIS: On October 16, 1971, a Cessna 402 (N3250Q) departed from North Las Vegas Airport (KVGT) enroute to Grand Canyon National Park Airport (KGCN). The air tour flight was being operated by Scenic Airlines and was scheduled to be 90 minutes in duration. Pilot Wayne Leeth age 46, had flown the route more than 600 times and had more than 2,400 hours total time with 415 hours in the Cessna 402. A fast moving cold front brought snow showers and low visibility that morning as the flight of four tour aircraft made their way eastbound through the canyon. With the ceiling and visibility dropping, the four planes began to turn back for Las Vegas. Captain Leeth was the last aircraft to turn around after attempting to make it over the Shivwits Plateau near Parashant Canyon. Captain Wayne Leeth's last radio call was that he was turning back due to weather. The time was 9:45 AM. With only three of his four planes safely back on the ramp, a concerned John Siebold (Scenic Airlines owner) began to take the steps required in an attempt to locate the overdue aircraft. Without success, the official search was under way by 2:00 PM. The weather continued to hamper the search efforts and it wasn't until the next day around noon that the scattered wreckage of N3250Q was discovered on a snow covered plateau. All ten persons onboard were killed instantly. Wayne Leeth...............Pilot Dr. James Allen...........Princeton, NJ Mrs. Florence Allen.....Princeton, NJ Dr. R. Lynch................Chicago, IL Mrs. R. Lynch..............Chicago, IL Mr. P. Dosmond...........Paris, France Mrs. P. Dosmond.........Paris, France Mr. Paul Haack............Erlangen, W. Germany Mrs. Paul Haack..........Erlangen, W. Germany Mr. Walter Pilgram.......Erlangen, W. Germany ********************************************************************************** HISTORICAL SUMMARY: This was not the toughest crash site to find, but it took about fifteen years of on and off searching and a little luck to locate it. The various newspaper articles had the crash site either on 7,700 foot Mt. Trumbull or Pine Mountain, in Parashant Canyon or near the top of Parashant Canyon. Even more confusing, the NTSB listed the location as Colorado City (nearly 60 miles north of the crash site). I tried to narrow it down with the Civil Air Patrol's wreckage locator list and it turned out that the listed CAP coordinate was only a mile from the crash site. Even with this, I still never found the site until I made a random turn over the Shivwits Plateau on December 12, 2008. The crash site is remote, but accessible with 4x4 or ATV equipment. The site is located within a dry wash and on top of the plateau at about the 5,500' elevation line. During my low passes over the site, I was surprised to see a large amount of wreckage present. Due to approaching winter storms, I was not able to visit the site on foot. When conditions are favorable, I will survey and document the site.

October 16, 1971, Scenic Airlines Inc., Cessna 402 (N3250Q) Grand Canyon, AZ

ACCIDENT SYNOPSIS: On October 16, 1971, a Cessna 402 (N3250Q) departe ...

Updated: Jun 12, 2009 1:14am PST

March 22, 1958, Lockheed L-18-56 Lodestar "The Liz" (N300E) near Grants, NM : March 22, 1958. The Lockheed Lodestar 18-56 (N300E) had been leased to movie producer Michael Todd since October 1957. The flight crew was provided by Linden Flight Service. While enroute from Burbank, California to Tulsa, Oklahoma, the flight made routine position reports from its assigned altitude of 11,000 feet until passing over Winslow, Arizona. Shortly after the last routine report at 11,000 feet, a higher altitude was requested of ATC because of encountering icing conditions. The request was granted and the aircraft reported, five minutes later, being at 13,000 feet between cloud layers. The last report was over Zuni, New Mexico and estimating Grants, New Mexico at 0249. Ten minutes after this report a ground explosion at an elevation of 7,200 feet was observed by another flight and by ground witnesses. During the CAB investigation, it was reported that the right engine master rod bearing had failed in flight and the right propeller was feathered; however, complete loss of control followed due to structural airframe icing and the aircraft struck the ground in a very steep angle of descent. There is evidence of the aircraft being considerably over its maximum allowable weight at departure and it is believed that the comparatively sudden failure of an engine at 13,000 feet created a situation, made more critical by virtue of the then existing weight, in which the pilot was unable to maintain control of the aircraft. **********************************************************************************

March 22, 1958, Lockheed L-18-56 Lodestar "The Liz" (N300E) near Grants, NM

March 22, 1958. The Lockheed Lodestar 18-56 (N300E) had been leased to ...

Updated: Jun 21, 2009 4:38pm PST

8/10/56 USAF F-100A (53-1678) 30 miles north of Kingman, AZ : At 7:45am on 10 August 1956, Captain Aubrey Brown took off from Nellis AFB, Nevada, on an acrobatic flight in an F-100A Super Sabre. The pilot made an uneventful climb to 35,000 and cruised at this altitude for approximately 20 minutes. He then executed a few hard turns down to 20,000 feet. Then with his throttle at full military power, he descended to 15,000 feet to pick up the necessary airspeed for a loop. As he approached the top of the loop, he experienced a severe compressor stall. The pilot pulled the aircraft over the top, and once the nose of the aircraft came down through the horizon, the stalls stopped and the engine operated normally. The pilot then climbed back to 18,000 feet and prepared for another loop. After picking up airspeed, the pilot applied 4.5 "G's" to perform this maneuver. When passing through approximately 60 degrees past the vertical, the aircraft again experienced a compressor stall. The throttle was left at full military power and the nose was pulled down to the horizon. The stalls kept dying away, but did not quit. At this point, the pilot pulled back the throttle and checked the exhaust temperature that was approaching 1,000 degrees. The throttle was then brought back to idle and the exhast temperature dropped slowly to 600 degrees. During this period the compressor stalls were still occurring, even though the RPM's dropped to 55 percent. The pilot set up a glide at 220 knots and switched on the emergency fuel regulator. The throttle was advanced, and again the exhaust temperature went up to 1,000 degrees. The pilot then switched back to the normal system fuel regulator and the exhaust temperature dropped to below 600 degrees. The throttle was advanced once again, causing the temperature to soar up, so it was pulled back and the RPM's dropped down to 50 percent. The pilot then headed for Red Lake and advised the tower at Nellis he was going to bail out. He turned the aircraft to an easterly heading and the successful ejection was made at 9,500 feet, where he landed near Red Lake. The plane continued descending and crashed on a high mountain peak in the Music Mountains, spreading wreckage over a quarter mile while it cartwheeled .

8/10/56 USAF F-100A (53-1678) 30 miles north of Kingman, AZ

At 7:45am on 10 August 1956, Captain Aubrey Brown took off from Nellis ...

Updated: Oct 05, 2008 12:25am PST

August 31, 1947, Lockheed P-38F "The Flying Shamrock" (NX5101N) Northern AZ : In 1947, Glenn McCarthy purchased a P-38 fighter for $4,000, spent $50,000 upgrading it, then entered it in the cross-country Bendix Trophy Race, from Los Angeles to Cleveland. Though 50 planes entered, McCarthy’s promotional skills secured him the advance headlines; he held a series of star-studded Hollywood launch parties, then prevailed upon the actress Joan Crawford to christen The Flying Shamrock, smashing a champagne bottle across its nose as flashbulbs burst.

August 31, 1947, Lockheed P-38F "The Flying Shamrock" (NX5101N) Northern AZ

In 1947, Glenn McCarthy purchased a P-38 fighter for $4,000, spent $50 ...

Updated: Oct 22, 2008 4:12pm PST

March 3, 1946, American Airlines, Douglas DC-3 (NC21799) Thing Mountain, CA : ACCIDENT SYNOPSIS: American Airlines Flight 6-103 was a domestic transcontinental flight that had originated in New York. After making several scheduled stops, the Douglas DC-3 "Flagship" departed Tucson, Arizona at 5:59 AM for it's final leg to San Diego, California. On board were 24 passengers and a crew of 3. At 7:53 AM, the flight reported over El Centro, California at 8,000 feet in heavy overcast conditions. The weather in San Diego was not much better, with a 1,200 foot overcast of broken clouds. A clearance was given to the flight by company controllers in San Diego for the flight to maintain 8,000 feet, but the message was never acknowledged by the crew of Flight 6-103. For reasons unknown, Flight 6-103 began a premature decent from 8,000 feet into the rising terrain of the Laguna Range. At 8:12 AM, the Douglas "Flagship" collided with eastern side of Thing Mountain with such force that persons nearby mistaken the crash impact for the sound of distant thunder. All 27 persons including two infants were killed. At the time, it was the worst air disaster in U.S. commercial aviation history. Ironically, it would only be less than nine months when another airliner would join Flight 6-103 in a similar accident very close to this same location (see story). ********************************************************************************************************************************************* HISTORICAL SUMMARY:

March 3, 1946, American Airlines, Douglas DC-3 (NC21799) Thing Mountain, CA

ACCIDENT SYNOPSIS: American Airlines Flight 6-103 was a domestic t ...

Updated: Dec 25, 2009 11:31am PST

June 10, 1973, Cessna 310Q (N7979Q) Mohon Peak, AZ :

June 10, 1973, Cessna 310Q (N7979Q) Mohon Peak, AZ

Updated: Oct 01, 2009 9:09pm PST