1942 — March 15, 2 USAAF B-17s out of Pendleton OR crash within 2 hrs., OR/10, ID-4–14
–10 off-course USAAF B-17 flies into Blue Mt. OR at night, poor weather
— 4 USAAF B-17 flies into ridge on missed approach 2nd lndg. attempt, Boise, ID.
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 6-29-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–14 AP. “14 Army Men Die in Crashes.” Reno Evening Gazette, NV. 3-17-1942, p. 12.
–14 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents in the [US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p.60-61.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “3-15-42, Pendleton Field, Oregon At 2355 a Boeing B-17E collided with a mountain 20 miles southwest of Pendleton Field, Pendleton, Oregon, killing the crew of ten. Light rain and poor visibility were reported in the area at the time of the crash. The last known position of the B-17, which had taken off at 2227 from Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho, was over Baker, Oregon. The aircraft was flying straight and level with all four engines producing power when it collided with the mountain. Investigation revealed that the B-17 was off course at the time of the accident….” (Mireles Vol. 1, 2006, p. 60.)
Mireles: “3-16-42, Gowen Field, Idaho. At 0220 [AM], a Boeing B-17E collided with a ridge four miles southwest of Gowan Field, Boise, Idaho, killing four-crewmen and seriously injuring two others. The B-17 was preparing to land at the field after a seven-hour night navigation training mission. The pilot had missed his approach to the field by choosing the wrong runway and was forced to go around after realizing his mistake. The airplane struck the ridge in a shallow right bank with its starboard main wheel and wing. Wreckage was scattered for about 1,000 yards. Investigators noted that the pilot was probably fatigued, having flown a long mission earlier in the day. The surviving airmen stated that the pilot had gotten ill on the flight, having vomited into his oxygen mask. He appeared ‘normal’ when they arrived over Boise….”
March 17, AP: “Pendleton, Ore., March 17. (AP) – Army Salvage crews attempted today to carry crash-shattered sections of two flying fortresses from the mountains on which they smashed early yesterday, killing fourteen army aviators.
“Wreckage from one of the four-motored Boeing bombers, which hit a Blue mountain peak twenty miles south of here while on flight from the Pendleton air base, was strewn over a mile-wide canyon. It took an all-day search yesterday to locate the bodies of the ten crew members, all hurled into scattered snow banks.
“The other bomber, also from the Pendleton field, plowed into a wooded slope near Gowen field, Boise, Idaho, while circling for a landing, and four members of the six-man crew were killed….
“Col. Frank A. Wright, Pendleton air base commander, said the planes, on routine flights, cracked up within two hours of each other in early morning darkness.
“He listed the dead from the Blue mountain crash as [we place the names in separate lines]
Second Lieut. Lawler C. Neighbors, Goodwater, Ala., pilot;
Second Lieut. John L. Bailey, Evansville, Ind., co-pilot;
Second Lieut. Gleen R. Metsker, jr., St. Helens, Ore.;
Staff Sergeant Weldon G. Wilson, Montoursville, Penn., engineer;
Corporal James T. Mutchler, Falls City, Texas, radio operator;
Corporal George R. Hall, Alden Bridge, La.;
Sergeant Charles C. Parsons, Du Quoin, ills.’
Sergeant Raymond J. Paveglio, Concord, N.H.;
Corporal Frank H. Spooner III, New Bedford, Mass.
“There was little to salvage from the Blue mountain crash as the plane apparently hit a 3500-foot peak at full speed.
“At the Boise crash, one wing and one motor were destroyed by fire, but the rest of the plane possibly was salvageable.
“Those killed were
Second Lieut. Charles S. Hosford, III, Butler, Penn., the pilot;
Second Lieut. Duane T. Crosthwaite, Pleasant Ridge, Mich., co-pilot;
Harald L. Gilliam, Everett, Wash., and
Private Arthur L. Shifper, address unavailable.”
Sources
Associated Press. “14 Army Men Die in Crashes…Planes Down in Mountains.” Reno Evening Gazette, NV. 3-17-1942, p. 12. Accessed 6-29-2024 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/reno-evening-gazette-mar-17-1942-p-4/
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.