1944 — Sep 18, off-course USAAF C-47 crash, Mt. Brooks near Talkeetna, AK –all 19
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-26-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–19 Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Alaska, 1940-1949.
–19 Cpl. Paul B. Lowney. “Tragedy of the C-47.” AlaskaWeb.org. April 1945.
–19 Associated Press. “Alaska Plane Search Set.” Salt Lake Tribune, 10-29-1944, p. 6A.
–19 ASN. Accident description. USAAF Douglas C-47A-90-DL…18 Sep 1944…Alaska.
–19 Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 revision.
–19 Daily Alaska Empire, Juneau AK. “Juneau man…with mission going after bodies…” 10-31-1944, 2.
–19 Daily Alaska Empire, Juneau AK. “Names of 19 Plane Crash Victims Told.” 10-4-1944, 6.
Narrative Information
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Network, Database, 1944:
“Date: Monday 18 September 1944
“Type: Douglas C-47A-90-DL (DC-3)
“Operating for: Northwest Airlines
“Leased from: United States Army Air Force – USAAF
“Registration: 43-15738
“MSN: 20204
“First flight: 1944
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
“Passengers: Fatalities: 16 / Occupants: 16
“Total: Fatalities: 19 / Occupants: 19
“Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
“Location: Mt. Deception, AK (USA)
“Phase: En route (ENR)
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Anchorage (Unknown airport), AK, USA
“Destination airport: Fairbanks International Airport, AK…USA
“Narrative:
“The C-47 was approximately 35 miles off course en route from Anchorage to Fairbanks, Alaska. The crew apparently was flying at 12,000 feet when they encountered a severe downdraft, which forced them to go on instruments into the clouds. The C-47 hit belly first with the fuselage splitting open, then slid down a precipitous slope coming to rest a third of a mile down from the point of impact.”
Baugher: “Douglas C-47A-90-DL….15738 (c/n 20204) crashed 10 mi NE of Talkeetna, Alaska Sep 18, 1944. 3 crew and 16 passengers killed.” (Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 revision.)
Lowney, Cpl. Paul B. “Tragedy of the C-47.” AlaskaWeb.org. April 1945:
On September 18, 1944, nineteen persons — nearly all soldiers returning to the United States on furlough — climbed into an A.T.C. C-47 transport plane at Elmendorf Field, Anchorage….The plane, which might have landed safely in Fairbanks, mysteriously crashed into solid ice on an unnamed, uncharted peak sixteen miles northeast of Mt. McKinley and sent crew and passengers tumbling through the fuselage into the deep snow, never again to be seen by human eyes….
“This routine flight brought about one of the most extensive and daring rescue expeditions ever undertaken. For the first time men were to investigate a towering, cone-like peak of ice stretching skyward for 11,400 feet.
“Pilot Roy Proebstle, flying at 9,000 feet over Talkeetna station, reported to Ladd Field, Fairbanks, at 7:42 A.M. Half an hour later the plane was estimated over Summit, still on course. As hours slipped by, Ladd Field saw nothing of the C-47. Silence added more certainty to a growing fear for its safety. Drafts and currents over the snow-capped Alaska Range are known to be treacherous; peaks are high and deceiving; thickly falling snow obscures visibility. Clouds often hang low, screening huge blocks of ice that jut miles into the sky….
“And so began one of the largest land rescue expeditions ever assembled….
“No bodies or traces of bodies were found….
“The plane was reported flying under icing conditions, which may have prevented it from securing necessary altitude to clear the mountain. As for being nearly 50 miles off course, it had been pointed out that radio beams have been known to bend. Still another theory, and a probable one, is that the plane was caught in a severe downdraft and could not pull out….
“As to the bodies, opinion is in accord. Pearson, Washburn and other members of the search party agree that the occupants of the plane were hurled out when the motors struck the solid ice, splitting the fuselage open. Bodies and other heavy object which were loose inside the plane were thrown out into the snow and likely fell into crevices on the mountainside. The impact of the crash caused a snow-slide which concealed all evidence which might otherwise have been found….
Killed in the plane were:
Ray Proebstile, pilot, Minneapolis
- H. Blevin, co-polot, Minneapolis
Pvt. J. A. George, Jr., Russelville, Ark.
S 1/c Bernard Ortego, Opelsas, La.
Maj. Rudolph F. Bostelman, La Grange, Ill.
Pvt. Charles C. Ellie, Greenfield, Ill.
Lt. (jg) Athel L. Gill, Nashville, Tenn.
Lt. Orlando J. Buck, Rosebank, N.Y.
T/4 Timothy D. Stevens, Suffern, N.Y.
Pvt. Howard A Pevey, Roseland, La.
Pfc. Alfred S. Madison, New Auburn, Wisc.
Pfc. Clifford E. Phillips, Lake City, Tenn.
Cpl. Charles N. Dykeman, Holland, Mich.
T/5 Maurice R. Giggs, Caro, Mich.
Pvt. Anthony Kasper, Allamucky, N.J.
T/5 Edw. S. Stoering, Duluth, Minn.
Sgt. Wm. E. Backus, Lake Wales, Fla.
CWO Floyd M. Appelman, Akron, Ohio
Carl V. Harris, Texarkana, Texas.”
Newspapers
Sep 20, UP: “Edmonton, Alberta, Sept. 20. (UP) – A United States Army transport plane carrying 16 passengers and three crew members has been missing since Monday morning on a flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks, Alaska, army authorities announced. The plane, flying for the Alaska division of the air transport command, last was reported over Talkeetna, 100 miles north of Anchorage. Later a trapper reported hearing a crash near Lane Creek, 10 miles northeast of Talkeetna and 40 miles southeast of Mount McKinley.” (United Press. “Army Transport Plane Missing Over Alaska.” The Bakersfield Californian. 9-20-1944, p. 2.)
Oct 4: “Washington, Oct. 4. – The War Department announced today the names of 19 persons listed as missing in the crash, September 18, of a C-47 Air Transport Command plane near Mt. McKinley. Those aboard included Maj. Rudolph P. Bostelman, La Grange, Illinois, 12 other Army men, two Navy officers, and one civilian in addition to the three crew members.
“The Alaska Division of the ATC said ground rescue parties are not yet able to reach the remote crash scene but no signs of life have been observed by crews of search planes. The plane was on a routine flight between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
“None of the Army or Navy men were from the West Coast. The civilian, Karl V. Harris, was an employee of the Michael Baker Construction Company of Anchorage. The War Department said the last radio contact made by the plane was over the summit of a peak, near Mt. McKinley, more than half-way to Fairbanks.” (Daily Alaska Empire, Juneau AK. “Names of 19 Plane Crash Victims Told.” 10-4-1944, p. 6.)
Oct 28, AP: “Denver, Oct. 28 (AP) – Maj. Jesse G. Hill of Denver has been designated by the army to organize an expedition that will attempt to scale hazardous Mt. Brooks in Alaska in search of the bodies of 19 persons presumed killed when their military transport plane crashed last month. An army announcement said the party’s mission will be to bring back the bodies and obtain information about the accident. The plane, a C-47, flying from Anchorage to Fairbanks, Alaska, with two Northwest Air Lines pilots, a civilian and 16 service men, most of them en route to the States on furloughs, crashed against the mountain 10,000 feet up.” (Associated Press. “Alaska Plane Search Set.” Salt Lake Tribune, 10-29-1944, p. 6A.)
Oct 31: “Headquarters, Alaskan Department – Details of a mission to recover the bodies of 19 persons presumed killed when their C-47 Air Transport Command plane crashed near the top of Mt. Brooks in September were disclosed today…at Alaskan Department Headquarters. The expedition is one of the most difficult ever attempted in Alaska.
“The plane, which was flying on instruments under icing conditions, crashed September 18 at an altitude of 9,700 feet, near the top of the peak between Eldridge and Muldrow glaciers. Mt. Brooks, one of the greater peaks in the area of Mt. McKinley, is located in a sector which has never been accurately charted, and so far as Arry authorities can determine, no person has ever climbed the mountain.
“The really difficult mission, that of actually climbing the snow-covered mountain to the wrecked plane, still lies ahead of the party, An advance party headed by Grant Pearson, a ranger of the McKinley Park Service and one of the few persons ever to climb Mt. McKinley, highest mountain in North American, has made its way to the edge of Muldrew Glacier and was ordered not to proceed further pending arrival of special equipment, without which ascent of the mountain was considered extremely dangerous. Because of the hazardous nature of the expedition, the 44 members of the party were selected from especially-qualified soldier volunteers from various organizations. Capt. Amarico R. Peracca, Corps of Engineers, of Crockett, Calif., 11th Air Force land rescue expert, cancelled his scheduled return to the States on rotation to take charge of the actual expedition. Maj. J. G. Hill of Denver, Colo., was selected to organize the mission.
“After the wreckage of the plane was located September 21, Col. Ivan N. Palmer, air base commander here, flew Mr. Pearson over the wreckage to determine whether it was possible to reach the wrecked plane. Colonel Palmer and Mr. Pearson reported their findings at a conference with Lt. Gen. Delow C. Emmons, Alaskan Department commander, Brig. Gen. Harry A. Johnson, commander of the XI Air Force Service Command, and other Army officials, and it was decided that every effort short of risking lives would be made to recover the bodies and gain information about the accident.
“A base camp has been established at Wonder Lake, nearest point on the McKinley Park road to Mt. Brooks. Forward camps have been set up at Cache Creek and McGonagall Pass, near the edge of Muldrew Glacier, to support the party that will attempt to climb to the scene of the crash. The base camp is receiving supplies by truck from Mt. McKinley Park station, on the Alaska Railhead, and supplies have been free-dropped and parachuted from a C-47 plane at McGonagall Pass, and the party that will attempt to climb Mt. Brooks will be supplied from the air. Radio communication between the various camps of the expedition has been established, and contact between the base camp at Wonder Lake and Elmendorf Field and Ladd Field is maintained by radio.
“An aerial mosaic is being prepared of the proposed route up the mountain, but weather conditions over the Alaska mountain range have prevented completion of aerial photographs of approaches to the scene of the crash….” (Daily Alaska Empire, Juneau AK. “Juneau Man is With Mission Going After Bodies, Wrecked Plane” 10-31-1944, p. 2.)
Sources
Aircraft Crashes Record Office (Geneva, Switzerland). Alaska, 1940-1949. Accessed 3-3-2009 at: http://www.baaa-acro.com/Pays/Etats-Unis/Alaska-1940-1949.htm
Associated Press. “Alaska Plane Search Set.” Salt Lake Tribune, 10-29-1944, p. 6A. Accessed 3-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/salt-lake-tribune-oct-29-1944-p-6/
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Network, Database, 1944. Accident description. United States Army Air Force, Douglas C-47A-90-DL…18 Sep 1944…Alaska. Accessed 3-26-2024 at:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19440918-0
Baugher, Joseph F. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). Nov 7, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-18-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1943_2.html
Daily Alaska Empire, Juneau AK. “Juneau Man is With Mission Going After Bodies, Wrecked Plane” 10-31-1944, p. 2. Accessed 3-26-2024 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/the-daily-alaska-empire-oct-31-1944-p-2/
Daily Alaska Empire, Juneau AK. “Names of 19 Plane Crash Victims Told.” 10-4-1944, p. 6. Accessed 3-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-daily-alaska-empire-oct-04-1944-p-6/
Lowney, Cpl. Paul B. “Tragedy of the C-47.” AlaskaWeb.org. April 1945. Originally published in Alaska Life, the Territorial Magazine, Juneau, Alaska, April 1945. Accessed 3-26-2024 at: http://www.alaskaweb.org/vertfile/tragedy.html
United Press. “Army Transport Plane Missing Over Alaska.” The Bakersfield Californian. 9-20-1944, p. 2. Accessed 3-26-2024 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-sep-20-1944-p-2/