1958 — Dec 22, USAF C-54 transport out of Elmendorf AFB crashes, Mt. Iliamna, AK– 15
–15 Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised 2nd edition). 2000, p. 81.
–15 Sheldon Air Service. “24 Jul Don Sheldon’s Review Today.” 7-24-1959.
–15 UPI. “Air Force to Recover Bodies of 15.” The Daily Herald, Provo, UT, 12-26-1958, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Gottehrer/AP: “Dec. 22, 1958. A U.S. Air Force C-54 transport plane, based at Elmendorf Air Force Base, crashed in the Iliamna Mountains and exploded on contact. All 15 Air Force personnel aboard were killed, including Lt. Col. George I. Poole, commander of the Air Force camp at Shemya.” (Gottehrer. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised 2nd edition). 2000, p. 81.)
Sheldon Air Service: “On Dec. 25 [1958], Christmas morning, Lt. Col. Maurise S. Speer, then commanding the 71st Air Rescue Sq., contacted Sheldon and asked him if he would assist in making positive identification of the C-54 wreckage located on top Mt. Iliamna, 130 miles south-southwest of Anchorage…. The missing C-54 had been the object of an intense three-day search after the plane had plunged into the 10,116 mountain to claim the lives of 15 Air Force crew members and passengers. Bad weather had prevented search aircraft from penetrating the Mount Iliamna area where the crash was believed to be located.
“The C-54 flying a routine supply mission to Shemya, disappeared off the radar scope at approximately 7:59 a.m. Dec. 22.
“Flying his aircraft very low through treacherous air currents and rugged mountainous area, Sheldon had to make six passes before he could get close enough to read the aircraft numbers off the tail section. It was all the evidence the 71st need to confirm the wreckage.” (Sheldon Air Service. “24 Jul Don Sheldon’s Review Today.” 7-24-1959. Accessed 8-25-2017.)
Newspapers
Dec 23: “Anchorage, Alaska (AP) — Bad weather and early darkness stalled the search Monday night for an Air Force C54 with 15 aboard, missing and believed down along the rugged Aleutian chain. The big, four-engined plane took off from Elmendorf Air Force Base here Monday [Dec 22] and disappeared from the radarscope 47 minutes later. It was headed for the refueling and radar base at Shemya, a tiny island in the North Pacific. The last fix on the plane was over the Iliamna mountains about 130 miles southwest of here. Amphibians and helicopters searched the flight route before being forced in by weather and darkness. All aboard were military personnel….” (AP. “Plane Down in Aleutians, 15 on Board.” Mt. Vernon Register-News, IL, 12-23-1958, p. 1.)
Dec 26: “Anchorage, Alaska (UPI) — The Air Force planned today an attempt to recover the bodies of 15 men killed when their C54 transport crashed into the side of Mr. Iliamna, 130 miles south of here.
“A raging storm Thursday prevented a helicopter from landing in the area, but veteran bush pilot Don Sheldon, of Talkeetna, Alaska, got close enough to the wreckage to positively identify it as the C54 which had been missing since Monday…” (UPI. “Air Force to Recover Bodies of 15.” The Daily Herald, Provo, UT, 12-26-1958, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Plane Down in Aleutians, 15 on Board.” Mt. Vernon Register-News, IL, 12-23-1958, p. 1. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/mt-vernon-register-news-dec-23-1958-p-1/?tag
Gottehrer, Dean M. The Associated Press Stylebook for Alaska (Revised and 2nd edition). Fairbanks, Alaska: Epicenter Press, 2000. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=O53zwdFYTGEC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Sheldon Air Service. “24 Jul Don Sheldon’s Review Today.” 7-24-1959. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: http://www.sheldonairservice.com/news/don-sheldons-review-today
United Press International. “Air Force to Recover Bodies of 15.” The Daily Herald, Provo, UT, 12-26-1958, p. 1. Accessed 8-25-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/provo-daily-herald-dec-26-1958-p-1/?tag