Joplin Globe
Joplin, Missouri
November 19, 1955
Page 1
PLANE WRECKAGE SIGHTED IN NEVADA
CRAFT HIT PEAK 300 FEET FROM TOP - 14 ABOARD BELIEVED DEAD.
LAS VEGAS. Nev. Nov. I5
The margin of death was only 300 feet for 14 persons aboard an Air Force transport plane which crashed into a snowy mountain peak yesterday while flying to the Nevada atomic bombing range.
Although ground parties battling rugged terrain and temperatures near zero, had yet to reach the plane, a reconnaissance pilot today flew over burned wreckage and said there was no sign of life.
Maj. J. E. Manch, operations officer at Nellis Air Force Base here, reported the wreckage was at about the 9,000 foot elevation on Charleston Peak, visible from this city.
ONE ENGINE TORN AWAY
He said that had the four engine C54 been just 300 feet higher it would have gone over the ridge and been in the clear. Wreckage indicated the plane had been in a climb and mushed into the mountain, rather than hitting it head-on. Snow was melted in the crash area. The forward part of the plane was burned. One engine had been torn away.
A ground party was reported only three or four miles from the area, but precipitous that it expected to take nearly a day to travel the remaining distance.
Sheer cliffs and swirling winds made it impossible to get a helicopter or parachutist into the area.
The C54 left Southern California's Norton AFB yesterday morning, stopped at Burbank to pick up more passengers and then left for Groom Dry Lake. 50 miles north of the AEC's Camp Mercury on the Nevada Desert.
PILOT FROM SAN ANTONIO
The pilot and copilot of the plane, 1st Lt. George F. Pappas and 2nd Lt. Paul E. Winham, both were from San Antonio. Tex., as was S. Sgt. Clayton Farris. Other airmen were S. Sgt. John H. Gaines, Ripley, Tenn.. and Airman 2.C. Guy R. Fafolas, Nephi, Utah.
Civilian employees of the Air Force aboard were H. F. Bray, Houston. Tex., J. W. Brown. Savannah. Ga., William Marr. Hattsville, Md., Terrance 'Donnell, New York City, and Edwin Urolatis, Brockton, Mass. |
Frederick F. Hanks, Pasadena. Calif., and Harold G. Silent, Los Angeles, were listed as Air Force consultants, and Richard Hruda and Rodney H. Kreimendahl, both of Lockheed Aircraft Corp., Burbank, Calif., were technicians.
Several old plane wrecks dot the Charleston Mountains. It was into this range in 1942 that a plane carrying actress Carole Lombard, wife of Clark Gable crashed with no survivors.
The Charleston Mountains have been used in the past by newsmen as vantage points from which to watch atom bomb test explosions.
***********************
Las Vegas Daily Optic
Las Vegas, New Mexico
November 21, 1955
Page 3
Rescuers Return 14 Victims From Transport Clash
LAS VEGAS, Nev. —UP— A mounted posse Monday returned the bodies of 14 persons killed in the crash of an Air Force C-54 transport plane atop towering Mt. Charleston to nearby Ellis Air Force Base.
The bodies were brought down from the snow-capped mountain by a sheriff's posse of 17 men on horseback. The posse said four of he bodies were found burned inside the plane and the remainder had been thrown in front of the plane by the impact of the crash.
Three rescue parties reached the wreckage of the plane Sunday and verified that all 14 of the military and civilian personnel aboard had perished.
The rescue team identified the plane, found near the peak of the two-mile high mountain, as the aircraft which had been missing since Thursday morning on a flight from Burbank, Calif., to the Atomic Energy Commission's atomic test site here.
The dead were identified as:
James F. Bray, Houston, Tex.
James W. Brown, Savannah, Ga.
Frederick F. Hanks, Pasadena, Calif.
Rodney H. Kreimendahl, Hollywood, Calif.
William Marr. Hyattsville. Md.
Terrence O'Donnell. New York City.
Harold C. Silent, Los Angeles.
Edwin J. Urolatis, Brockton, Mass.
S-Sgt. John H. Gaines, Mary Esther, Fla.
Crew members:
1st Lt. George F. Pappas, San Antonio, Tex.
2nd Lt. Paul E. Winham, San Antonio, Tex.
Airman 2-C Guy R. Fasclas, Nephi, Utah.
S-Sgt. Clayton Farris, San Antonio, Tex.
Joplin, Missouri
November 19, 1955
Page 1
PLANE WRECKAGE SIGHTED IN NEVADA
CRAFT HIT PEAK 300 FEET FROM TOP - 14 ABOARD BELIEVED DEAD.
LAS VEGAS. Nev. Nov. I5
The margin of death was only 300 feet for 14 persons aboard an Air Force transport plane which crashed into a snowy mountain peak yesterday while flying to the Nevada atomic bombing range.
Although ground parties battling rugged terrain and temperatures near zero, had yet to reach the plane, a reconnaissance pilot today flew over burned wreckage and said there was no sign of life.
Maj. J. E. Manch, operations officer at Nellis Air Force Base here, reported the wreckage was at about the 9,000 foot elevation on Charleston Peak, visible from this city.
ONE ENGINE TORN AWAY
He said that had the four engine C54 been just 300 feet higher it would have gone over the ridge and been in the clear. Wreckage indicated the plane had been in a climb and mushed into the mountain, rather than hitting it head-on. Snow was melted in the crash area. The forward part of the plane was burned. One engine had been torn away.
A ground party was reported only three or four miles from the area, but precipitous that it expected to take nearly a day to travel the remaining distance.
Sheer cliffs and swirling winds made it impossible to get a helicopter or parachutist into the area.
The C54 left Southern California's Norton AFB yesterday morning, stopped at Burbank to pick up more passengers and then left for Groom Dry Lake. 50 miles north of the AEC's Camp Mercury on the Nevada Desert.
PILOT FROM SAN ANTONIO
The pilot and copilot of the plane, 1st Lt. George F. Pappas and 2nd Lt. Paul E. Winham, both were from San Antonio. Tex., as was S. Sgt. Clayton Farris. Other airmen were S. Sgt. John H. Gaines, Ripley, Tenn.. and Airman 2.C. Guy R. Fafolas, Nephi, Utah.
Civilian employees of the Air Force aboard were H. F. Bray, Houston. Tex., J. W. Brown. Savannah. Ga., William Marr. Hattsville, Md., Terrance 'Donnell, New York City, and Edwin Urolatis, Brockton, Mass. |
Frederick F. Hanks, Pasadena. Calif., and Harold G. Silent, Los Angeles, were listed as Air Force consultants, and Richard Hruda and Rodney H. Kreimendahl, both of Lockheed Aircraft Corp., Burbank, Calif., were technicians.
Several old plane wrecks dot the Charleston Mountains. It was into this range in 1942 that a plane carrying actress Carole Lombard, wife of Clark Gable crashed with no survivors.
The Charleston Mountains have been used in the past by newsmen as vantage points from which to watch atom bomb test explosions.
***********************
Las Vegas Daily Optic
Las Vegas, New Mexico
November 21, 1955
Page 3
Rescuers Return 14 Victims From Transport Clash
LAS VEGAS, Nev. —UP— A mounted posse Monday returned the bodies of 14 persons killed in the crash of an Air Force C-54 transport plane atop towering Mt. Charleston to nearby Ellis Air Force Base.
The bodies were brought down from the snow-capped mountain by a sheriff's posse of 17 men on horseback. The posse said four of he bodies were found burned inside the plane and the remainder had been thrown in front of the plane by the impact of the crash.
Three rescue parties reached the wreckage of the plane Sunday and verified that all 14 of the military and civilian personnel aboard had perished.
The rescue team identified the plane, found near the peak of the two-mile high mountain, as the aircraft which had been missing since Thursday morning on a flight from Burbank, Calif., to the Atomic Energy Commission's atomic test site here.
The dead were identified as:
James F. Bray, Houston, Tex.
James W. Brown, Savannah, Ga.
Frederick F. Hanks, Pasadena, Calif.
Rodney H. Kreimendahl, Hollywood, Calif.
William Marr. Hyattsville. Md.
Terrence O'Donnell. New York City.
Harold C. Silent, Los Angeles.
Edwin J. Urolatis, Brockton, Mass.
S-Sgt. John H. Gaines, Mary Esther, Fla.
Crew members:
1st Lt. George F. Pappas, San Antonio, Tex.
2nd Lt. Paul E. Winham, San Antonio, Tex.
Airman 2-C Guy R. Fasclas, Nephi, Utah.
S-Sgt. Clayton Farris, San Antonio, Tex.
Joplin Globe
Joplin, Missouri
November 19, 1955
Page 1
PLANE WRECKAGE SIGHTED IN NEVADA
CRAFT HIT PEAK 300 FEET FROM TOP - 14 ABOARD BELIEVED DEAD.
LAS VEGAS. Nev. Nov. I5
The margin of death was only 300 feet for 14 persons aboard an Air Force transport plane which crashed into a snowy mountain peak yesterday while flying to the Nevada atomic bombing range.
Although ground parties battling rugged terrain and temperatures near zero, had yet to reach the plane, a reconnaissance pilot today flew over burned wreckage and said there was no sign of life.
Maj. J. E. Manch, operations officer at Nellis Air Force Base here, reported the wreckage was at about the 9,000 foot elevation on Charleston Peak, visible from this city.
ONE ENGINE TORN AWAY
He said that had the four engine C54 been just 300 feet higher it would have gone over the ridge and been in the clear. Wreckage indicated the plane had been in a climb and mushed into the mountain, rather than hitting it head-on. Snow was melted in the crash area. The forward part of the plane was burned. One engine had been torn away.
A ground party was reported only three or four miles from the area, but precipitous that it expected to take nearly a day to travel the remaining distance.
Sheer cliffs and swirling winds made it impossible to get a helicopter or parachutist into the area.
The C54 left Southern California's Norton AFB yesterday morning, stopped at Burbank to pick up more passengers and then left for Groom Dry Lake. 50 miles north of the AEC's Camp Mercury on the Nevada Desert.
PILOT FROM SAN ANTONIO
The pilot and copilot of the plane, 1st Lt. George F. Pappas and 2nd Lt. Paul E. Winham, both were from San Antonio. Tex., as was S. Sgt. Clayton Farris. Other airmen were S. Sgt. John H. Gaines, Ripley, Tenn.. and Airman 2.C. Guy R. Fafolas, Nephi, Utah.
Civilian employees of the Air Force aboard were H. F. Bray, Houston. Tex., J. W. Brown. Savannah. Ga., William Marr. Hattsville, Md., Terrance 'Donnell, New York City, and Edwin Urolatis, Brockton, Mass. |
Frederick F. Hanks, Pasadena. Calif., and Harold G. Silent, Los Angeles, were listed as Air Force consultants, and Richard Hruda and Rodney H. Kreimendahl, both of Lockheed Aircraft Corp., Burbank, Calif., were technicians.
Several old plane wrecks dot the Charleston Mountains. It was into this range in 1942 that a plane carrying actress Carole Lombard, wife of Clark Gable crashed with no survivors.
The Charleston Mountains have been used in the past by newsmen as vantage points from which to watch atom bomb test explosions.
***********************
Las Vegas Daily Optic
Las Vegas, New Mexico
November 21, 1955
Page 3
Rescuers Return 14 Victims From Transport Clash
LAS VEGAS, Nev. —UP— A mounted posse Monday returned the bodies of 14 persons killed in the crash of an Air Force C-54 transport plane atop towering Mt. Charleston to nearby Ellis Air Force Base.
The bodies were brought down from the snow-capped mountain by a sheriff's posse of 17 men on horseback. The posse said four of he bodies were found burned inside the plane and the remainder had been thrown in front of the plane by the impact of the crash.
Three rescue parties reached the wreckage of the plane Sunday and verified that all 14 of the military and civilian personnel aboard had perished.
The rescue team identified the plane, found near the peak of the two-mile high mountain, as the aircraft which had been missing since Thursday morning on a flight from Burbank, Calif., to the Atomic Energy Commission's atomic test site here.
The dead were identified as:
James F. Bray, Houston, Tex.
James W. Brown, Savannah, Ga.
Frederick F. Hanks, Pasadena, Calif.
Rodney H. Kreimendahl, Hollywood, Calif.
William Marr. Hyattsville. Md.
Terrence O'Donnell. New York City.
Harold C. Silent, Los Angeles.
Edwin J. Urolatis, Brockton, Mass.
S-Sgt. John H. Gaines, Mary Esther, Fla.
Crew members:
1st Lt. George F. Pappas, San Antonio, Tex.
2nd Lt. Paul E. Winham, San Antonio, Tex.
Airman 2-C Guy R. Fasclas, Nephi, Utah.
S-Sgt. Clayton Farris, San Antonio, Tex.
Joplin, Missouri
November 19, 1955
Page 1
PLANE WRECKAGE SIGHTED IN NEVADA
CRAFT HIT PEAK 300 FEET FROM TOP - 14 ABOARD BELIEVED DEAD.
LAS VEGAS. Nev. Nov. I5
The margin of death was only 300 feet for 14 persons aboard an Air Force transport plane which crashed into a snowy mountain peak yesterday while flying to the Nevada atomic bombing range.
Although ground parties battling rugged terrain and temperatures near zero, had yet to reach the plane, a reconnaissance pilot today flew over burned wreckage and said there was no sign of life.
Maj. J. E. Manch, operations officer at Nellis Air Force Base here, reported the wreckage was at about the 9,000 foot elevation on Charleston Peak, visible from this city.
ONE ENGINE TORN AWAY
He said that had the four engine C54 been just 300 feet higher it would have gone over the ridge and been in the clear. Wreckage indicated the plane had been in a climb and mushed into the mountain, rather than hitting it head-on. Snow was melted in the crash area. The forward part of the plane was burned. One engine had been torn away.
A ground party was reported only three or four miles from the area, but precipitous that it expected to take nearly a day to travel the remaining distance.
Sheer cliffs and swirling winds made it impossible to get a helicopter or parachutist into the area.
The C54 left Southern California's Norton AFB yesterday morning, stopped at Burbank to pick up more passengers and then left for Groom Dry Lake. 50 miles north of the AEC's Camp Mercury on the Nevada Desert.
PILOT FROM SAN ANTONIO
The pilot and copilot of the plane, 1st Lt. George F. Pappas and 2nd Lt. Paul E. Winham, both were from San Antonio. Tex., as was S. Sgt. Clayton Farris. Other airmen were S. Sgt. John H. Gaines, Ripley, Tenn.. and Airman 2.C. Guy R. Fafolas, Nephi, Utah.
Civilian employees of the Air Force aboard were H. F. Bray, Houston. Tex., J. W. Brown. Savannah. Ga., William Marr. Hattsville, Md., Terrance 'Donnell, New York City, and Edwin Urolatis, Brockton, Mass. |
Frederick F. Hanks, Pasadena. Calif., and Harold G. Silent, Los Angeles, were listed as Air Force consultants, and Richard Hruda and Rodney H. Kreimendahl, both of Lockheed Aircraft Corp., Burbank, Calif., were technicians.
Several old plane wrecks dot the Charleston Mountains. It was into this range in 1942 that a plane carrying actress Carole Lombard, wife of Clark Gable crashed with no survivors.
The Charleston Mountains have been used in the past by newsmen as vantage points from which to watch atom bomb test explosions.
***********************
Las Vegas Daily Optic
Las Vegas, New Mexico
November 21, 1955
Page 3
Rescuers Return 14 Victims From Transport Clash
LAS VEGAS, Nev. —UP— A mounted posse Monday returned the bodies of 14 persons killed in the crash of an Air Force C-54 transport plane atop towering Mt. Charleston to nearby Ellis Air Force Base.
The bodies were brought down from the snow-capped mountain by a sheriff's posse of 17 men on horseback. The posse said four of he bodies were found burned inside the plane and the remainder had been thrown in front of the plane by the impact of the crash.
Three rescue parties reached the wreckage of the plane Sunday and verified that all 14 of the military and civilian personnel aboard had perished.
The rescue team identified the plane, found near the peak of the two-mile high mountain, as the aircraft which had been missing since Thursday morning on a flight from Burbank, Calif., to the Atomic Energy Commission's atomic test site here.
The dead were identified as:
James F. Bray, Houston, Tex.
James W. Brown, Savannah, Ga.
Frederick F. Hanks, Pasadena, Calif.
Rodney H. Kreimendahl, Hollywood, Calif.
William Marr. Hyattsville. Md.
Terrence O'Donnell. New York City.
Harold C. Silent, Los Angeles.
Edwin J. Urolatis, Brockton, Mass.
S-Sgt. John H. Gaines, Mary Esther, Fla.
Crew members:
1st Lt. George F. Pappas, San Antonio, Tex.
2nd Lt. Paul E. Winham, San Antonio, Tex.
Airman 2-C Guy R. Fasclas, Nephi, Utah.
S-Sgt. Clayton Farris, San Antonio, Tex.
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