1943 – May 31, USAAF C-67 flies into clouded Desatoya Peak, Smith Creek Valley, NV–11
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-9-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–11 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V. 1 Jan 1941-Jun 1943, p. 391.
–11 Reno Evening Gazette, NV. “Bodies are Removed from Plane Wreckage.” 6-7-1943, p. 14.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At approximately 1702 PWT, a Douglas C-67 (a modified B-23) flying in instrument conditions collided with rising terrain at Smith Creek Valley, 36 miles west of Austin, Nevada, killing eleven crewmembers and passengers. The airplane took off from Peterson Field, Colorado Springs, Colorado, on a personnel transport flight to Reno Army Air Base, Reno, Nevada. Investigation revealed that the C-67, while flying in instrument conditions and at cruise speed, collided with Desatoya Peak at an elevation of approximately 10,000 feet msl, exploding into flames upon impact. The airplane, flying southwest, hit about 150 feet from the top of the peak. Investigators speculated that the pilots were in a very shallow descent in an effort to establish visual contact with the ground, causing the airplane to collide with mountainous terrain. The Superintendent of the Nevada State Fish Hatchery observed a low flying airplane pass over the hatchery at low altitude and then disappear into the clouds. He stated that he had heard a ‘strange’ noise a short time later, followed by silence. The superintendent reported the incident to authorities on 6-3-43 when he made a trip into Austin. AAF authorities located the airplane on 6-4-43 and reached the wreck the next day.” (Mireles 2006, Vol. 1, p. 391.)
Newspaper
June 7: “The bodies of eleven men, killed when their transport plane crashed into a mountain near the Smith creek state fish hatchery about fifty miles by road and pack animal from Austin, were brought to Reno from the scene of the crash Sunday. Wreckage of the ship was sighted by a civil air patrol plane Saturday shortly before noon.
“Presence of the plane in the Austin area was first made known on last Thursday when George Bonner, superintendent of the Smith creek hatchery came to Austin. He told the Austin telephone operator, that he saw and heard a plane during a heavy storm.. Having no telephone he was unable to communicate with Austin until he arrived personally.
“The telephone operator immediately notified the Reno army air base and the civil air patrol. After the wreckage of the plane was sighted a searching party left Austin Saturday afternoon, led by Deputy Sheriff George Dory and Coroner Alec Dyer, accompanied by army officials, who had landed a plane at the Austin airport. A major from the air transport command directed all civil authorities connected with the rescue not to divulge anything concerning the crash until it had been officially released, and names of six of the eleven in board the transport have not yet been announced.
“Coroner Dyer held an inquest into the deaths of the men on the ship, which had been bound from Colorado Springs, Colo., to Reno. After the verdict was reached, and on the major’s orders, Dyer withheld his report until it is approved in Washington, according to Sheriff Frank Hammond of Lander county.
“Apparently all the men on the ship were killed instantly when it crashed into the mountains. The plane was reported to have been badly smashed, but did not burn. Names of four crew members of the plane were released. They were identified as
First Lieut. George Adams, of Gunnison, Colo., the pilot;
Lieut. Earle V. Anderson of West New York, N. J.;
Corporal Warner L. Corey, Washington D. C., engineer;
Corporal Albert Schneider, New York City, radioman.
“Also believed on board the plane was Col Phillip Love, prominent St Louis airman and personal
friend of Charles Lindbergh.” (Reno Evening Gazette, NV. “Bodies are Removed from Plane Wreckage.” 6-7-1943, p. 14.)
Sources
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.
Reno Evening Gazette, NV. “Bodies are Removed from Plane Wreckage. Eleven Die in Air Crash near Austin [NV] Last Monday.” 6-7-1943, p. 14. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=10075511