1942 – Mar 18, twelve USAAF planes crash, CA (5), GA, OH (4), TX, WV — 12
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 6-25-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 12 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, pp. 61-62.
–4 P-39Fs crash in “blinding snowstorm,” 6½M E of Lima, OH; all 4 pilots killed.
–1 A-20C crash into cloud covered valley, off-route, over hometown, ~Durbin, WV
–1 BT-13s collide on final approach to Cochran Field, Macon, GA.
–5 All 5 BT-13A pilots, inclement weather, near Lebec, Quail Lake, Tehachapi, So. CA
–1 AT-61 takeoff crash Moore Field, Mission TX, 10:55 p.m.
Lima, OH. Four Bell P-39s crash during snowstorm, 11:45.
— 4 Emporia Gazette, KS. “Five U.S. Army Planes Crash.” 3-18-1942, 1.
— 4 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 61.
— 4 San Antonio Express, TX. “4 Army Planes Crash in Ohio Snow Storm.” 3-19-1942, 2.
Burner Mountain, near Durbin, West Virginia. Douglas A-20C Crash, ~1 p.m.
–1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 61.
–1 Sandusky Register-Star-News, OH. “Identify Pilot Killed in Plane Crash Wed.” 3-19-1942, 2
Cochran Field, Macon, GA, Vultee BT-13s collide on final approach to airport, 22:40
–1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 61.
Castaic Lake, 2M E Lebec, CA, Vultee BT-13A (instrument weather), 8:45 p.m. (1st of flight of 5)
— 1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 62.
Quail Lake vicinity (5M NE), CA, Vultee BT-13A, ~8:46 p.m. (2nd of flight of 5 to crash)
— 1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 62.
Rosamond, 20M W of, CA, Vultee BT-13A, 9:05 p.m. (3rd of flight of 5 to crash in CA)
— 1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 62.
Oak Creek Canyon, 10M SW of Tehachapi, CA, Vultee BT-13A. (4th of flight of 5 to crash)
— 1 Bakersfield Californian. “Pilot’s Skeleton Found in Wreck of Army Airplane.” 6-19-1948, 9
— 1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 62.
Mount Cummings, 10M S of Tehachapi, CA, Vultee BT-13A, 9:20 p.m. (5th of flight of 5)
— 1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 62.
— 1 San Antonio Light, TX. “Two Crash on Flight.” 3-20-1942, 10.
Moore Field, Mission, TX, North American AT-61 takeoff crash, 10:55 p.m.
— 1 Brownsville Herald, TX. “Trainer Ship Crashes near Moore Field.” 3-19-1942, p. 1.
— 1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 62.
— 1 San Antonio Express, TX. “Cadet Killed at Mission.” 3-20-1942, 12.
Lima, Ohio
March 18: “Lima, Ohio, March 18 (AP) – Four pilots were presumed killed today when their army pursuit ships crashed in flames on farms six miles east of here shortly before noon today. Farmers living nearby said they saw no survivors leave the ships. Fire wrecked the ships and there was no immediate identification of the victims. An ambulance driver found a leather purse bearing the name of Lt. A. Kennedy. Rescuers could see bodies of pilots in two planes. One bore a parachute indicating he tried to ball out. Flames prevented rescuers from reaching the other two ships.
“The crashes occurred during a severe snowstorm. Byron Heffner, farmer, said he saw one plane fall on his farm and burst into flames. Two other planes fell about 100 yards apart a half mile east of the Heffner farm. The fourth plane landed in the McClure woods a mile south of the Heffner farm and also burst into flames.
“Witnesses described all the ships as army planes. Lt. E. M. Ducker, adjutant at Patterson Field, Dayton, said they were expecting three P-39 pursuit ships from Selfridge Field, Mich., but he could not say whether they were the planes involved.” (Emporia Gazette, KS. “Five U.S. Army Planes Crash.” 3-18-1942, p. 1.)
March 18: “Lima, Ohio, March 18 (AP) – Pilots of four Army planes perished Wednesday as their ships crashed and burned in a blinding snowstorm, on farms six miles east of Lima. The Army Air Base at Wayne Co. Airport, Detroit, reported the ships left there on a mission for the air corps ferry command. Pilots killed, all second lieutenants, were listed at the base as:
Edward H. Saunders, 26, of Lake Village, Ark., flight leader.
Arnel J. Kennedy, 26, of Oklahoma City.
Eugene H. Anderson, 23, of Kewanee, Ill.
Earl A. Houser, 23, of Pesotum, Ill.
“The ships fell within a half-mile radius, three of them in open fields and one in a woods. All burst into flames. Two planes crashed 100 yards apart on the farm of I. H. Lutz.” (San Antonio Express, TX. “4 Army Planes Crash in Ohio Snow Storm.” 3-19-1942, p. 2.)
Burner Mountain, near Durbin, West Virginia
Mireles: “Investigators speculated that the pilot attempted to turn around in the valley after fearing he would be boxed in or collide with rising terrain. It was reported that the pilot flew over is hometown of Fairmont just prior to the crash. The 1-20 had taken off from Charlotte, North Carolina, at 1204 on a ferry flight to Bolling Field, Washington, D.C.” (Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents…[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 61.)
Gero notes: [Not stated is that Fairmont, WV is a bit out of the way for a flight from Charlotte to DC – it is 226 miles to the west of DC, as well as about 50 miles north.]
March 18: “Barlow, W. Va., March 18 (AP) – A twin-motored army bomber crashed and burned on Burner mountain today with a loss of at least two lives after it roared down a narrow highland valley with at least one motor missing, U.S. Forest Ranger W. L. Maule reported. Maule, who said visibility in the vicinity was at a minimum, expressed the opinion that if any occupants of the plane used parachutes they probably were killed. He fixed the time of the crash at about 1:30 p.m. The ranger said some of his men reported that two bodies could be seen inside the flaming plane but it could not be determined whether there were others.
“The scene of the crash was about a quarter of a mile from the crest of 3,600-foot Burner mountain in the heart of the Monongahela National forest. The wreckage still was burning fiercely an hour after the crash and although residents of the village of Frank tried to quench the flames with buckets of water they made little headway.” (Emporia Gazette, KS. “Five U.S. Army Planes Crash.” 3-18-1942, p. 1.)
March 18: “Barow, W. Va., March 18….The big monoplane, roaring through a gap in the Southeastern West Virginia mountains, came to its end about 1:30 p. m. in rock-strewn John’s Camp run within two miles of U. S. Hwy. 250 which runs through the little tannery town of Frank.” (San Antonio Express, TX. “Body Removed.” 3-19-1942, p. 2.)
March 19: “Durbin, W. Va., March 19 (UP) – The victim of an Army bomber crash on Burner mountain was identified today as Lieutenant Kenneth E. Conley of Fairmont, W. Va. Corporal J. M. Johnson of the state police found a store purchase slip bearing Conley’s name in a suitcase in the plane. Mr. and Mrs. Frank A. Conley of Fairmont have been notified by the War Department that their son is “down and unreported” on a flight from a southern airport to Boiling field. The twin-motored plane burned after it crashed into the mountain 3600 feet above sea level yesterday. An Army officer accompanied Sheriff Ward Hudson of Pocahontas-co to the crash scene today.
“Conley was 22 years old, a graduate of West Fairmont High school and had been in the air corps about a year.” (Sandusky Register-Star-News, OH. “Identify Pilot Killed in Plane Crash Wed.” 3-19-1942, p. 2.)
Cochran Field, Macon, GA, Vultee BT-13s collide on final approach to airport
Mireles: “3-18-42F. Cochran Field, Georgia. At 2240, two Vultee BT-13 airplanes collided while on final approach to land at Cochran Field, Macon, Georgia, killing RAF Flying Cadet John F. Latta, Ayshire, Scotland, aboard BT-13A #41-10820. RAF Flying Cadet Donald A. Macinnes landed BT-13A #41-1350 without injury. Cadet Latta was making an approach for a landing when an airplane piloted by Cadet Macinnes struck his airplane. The port wing of Cadet Macinnes’ airplane sheared off the vertical stabilizer and rudder of Cadet Latt’s airplane. Cadet Latta’s BT-13 spun into the ground from an altitude of 400 feet….” (pp. 61-62)
All five of BT-13A five-flight formation crash in inclement weather in Southern California
No. 1. BT-13A crash, Castaic Lake, 3M east of Lebec, CA
Mireles: “At 2045, a Vultee BT-13A crashed at Castaic Lake two miles east of Lebec, California, after inadvertently entering instrument flying conditions, killing A/C Eugene W. Crites. The aircraft was one of a flight of five (E-flight, 326th School Squadron, Minter Field, Bakersfield, California) that took off from Daggett Field, California, at 1933 on a night cross-country navigation training flight. This BT-13 and pilot had been reported missing and were not discovered until 4-8-42.” (p. 62)
No. 2. BT-13A crash 5M northeast of Quail Lake (east of Castaic Lake and Lebec), CA
Mireles: “At 2046, a Vultee BT-13A crashed five miles northeast of Quail Lake, California, after inadvertently entering instrument flying conditions, killing A/C Donald Carne, 20, San Francisco, California….” (p. 62)
No. 3. BT-13A crash 20M west of Rosamond near Muroc Field (today’s Edwards AFB), CA
Mireles: “At 2105, a Vultee BT-13A crashed 20 miles west of Rosamond, California, after inadvertently entering instrument flying conditions, killing A/C Paul R. Everette. The aircraft was one of a flight of five….” (p. 62)
No. 4. Vultee BT-13A Crash, Mount Cummings 10M south of Tehachapi, CA, 21:20
Mireles: “At 2120, a Vultee BT-13A crashed 10 miles south of Tehachapi, California, after inadvertently entering instrument flying conditions, killing A/C Paul A. Davis, 23, Denver Colorado. The aircraft was one of a flight of five….” (p. 62)
March 20: “Bakersfield, Calif., March 20. (AP) – Two air corps cadets crashed to their deaths and three others still are missing on a routine flight which left Minter field here Wednesday. The field commander said bodies of Don Carne, 20, San Francisco, and Paul A. Davis, 23, Denver, were recovered. Davis’ ship was found on Mount Cummings near the state women’s prison at Tehachapi and Carne’s near Quail lake. Search for the other missing planes continued.”[1]
(San Antonio Light, TX. “Two Crash on Flight.” 3-20-1942, p. 10.)
No. 5. Vultee BT-13A crash, Oak Creek Canyon, 10M SW of Tehachapi, CA.
Mireles: “At a time unknown, a Vultee BT-13A crashed in the vicinity of Oak Creek, 10 miles southwest of Tehachapi, California, after inadvertently entering instrument flying conditions, killing A/C Paul S. Day. The aircraft was one of a flight of five…This BT-13 and pilot had been reported missing and were not discovered until 6-18-48.” (p. 62)
June 19, 1948: “The Skeletal remains of an army pilot and the remnants of his trainer plane were found Friday [June 18] by two Basque sheepherders in the rugged terrain of Oak Creek Canyon, out of Tehachapi, Coroner’s Investigator John Werts reported today.
“An investigation of the wreckage indicated that the plane was a BT-13 trainer, used during the war at Minter Field to teach neophyte pilots, and had been in the canyon area since 1943 or 1944 [March 18, 1942] Very little remained of the skeleton.
.
Investigator Werts said there was nothing about the remains which would make it possible to identify the victim. However, the identification number was found on the wrecked plane and will be checked with the air force headquarters in Washington to determine identity.
“It is believed that the plane might have been one of a part of a flight which was reported missing from Minter Field during the war. The pilots had gone on a cross-country jaunt and five of them were lost, it was explained.
“Accompanying Investigator Werts into the rough terrain to investigate the air disaster were one of the Basque sheepherders who found the wreck, army officials from Muroc Army Air Base and Deputy Sheriff Clayton Yearick….” (Bakersfield Californian. “Pilot’s Skeleton Found in Wreck of Army Airplane.” 6-19-1948, p. 9.)
Moore Field, Mission, TX, North American AT-61 takeoff crash 11 p.m.
Mireles: “At 2255, a North American AT-6A crashed just after take-off one mile east of Moore Field, Mission, Texas, killing A/C Cecil Richardson. Witnesses stated that the airplane was climbing slower than what would be considered normal. The aircraft crashed into the ground in a 30-degree bank to the left with a descent angle of about 20 degrees and at about cruising speed from an altitude of approximately 500 feet. The airplane was on a night navigation flight.” (p. 62)
March 19: “McAllen – Aviation Cadet Cecil Richardson, 21, Kinston, Ala., was killed instantly at 11 p. m. Wednesday night when the advanced trainer plane he was flying crashed one mile east of Moore Field, near here. The crash occurred shortly after Richardson took off from the field on a routine night flight. He was alone in the plane. It was the first fatal plane accident at Moore Field. A group of air corps officers Thursday began an investigation of the accident, details of which have not been announced…” (Brownsville Herald, TX. “Trainer Ship Crashes near Moore Field.” 3-19-1942, p. 1.)
March 19: “Mission, Tex., March 19…[The] AT-6-A training plane crashed in a brush patch about a mile east of Moore Field last Wednesday night. Crash of the plane was seen from the field. The plane did not burn, according to the Moore Field public relations office. The crash took place shortly after ships took off on a routine night training flight.
March 20: “Cadet Richardson was a member of Class 42-D of the first group of cadets to undergo training at Moore Field, the Army’s new advanced single-engine flying school near here. He was a graduate of the University of Alabama, where he received a B.S. degree in education.” (San Antonio Express, TX. “Cadet Killed at Mission.” 3-20-1942, p. 12.)
Sources
Bakersfield Californian. “Pilot’s Skeleton Found in Wreck of Army Airplane.” 6-19-1948, p. 9. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=153994114
Brownsville Herald, TX. “Trainer Ship Crashes near Moore Field.” 3-19-1942, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=74498039
Emporia Gazette, KS. “Five U.S. Army Planes Crash,” 3-18-1942, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=113155261
Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 1: Introduction, January 1941 – June 1943). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.
San Antonio Express, TX. “Body Removed.” 3-19-1942, p. 2. Accessed at:
http://newspaperarchive.com
San Antonio Express, TX. “Cadet Killed at Mission.” 3-20-1942, p. 12. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=69124972
San Antonio Express, TX. “4 Army Planes Crash in Ohio Snow Storm.” 3-19-1942, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=69124942
San Antonio Light, TX. “Two Crash on Flight.” 3-20-1942, p. 10. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=68962485
Sandusky Register Star-News, OH. “Identify Pilot Killed in Plane Crash Wed.” 3-19-1942, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=134923032
[1] One of the other three would be found March 27, 1942 20 miles west of Rosamond, CA; the second was found April 8, 1943 at Castaic Lake, two miles east of Lebec, CA; and the third was not found until June 18, 1948 near Oak Creek, 10 miles southwest of Tehachapi, CA. (Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 62.)