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In this video, I document my hike to the remains of TWA Flight 260 with Boy Scout Troop 166. You'll see how we come across a rattlesnake, almost get rained out, and eventually complete an 11 mile round trip to the crash site.
Please like, share, and enjoy!
Last edited by alexanderaf; 08-19-2015 at 11:26 AM..
It was so difficult to reach the site, the police had to enlist the help of a mountain climbing club. They recovered the bodies, but could not transport all the wreckage. I'm not sure how common helicopters were at the time.
It makes me think of the GermanWings suicide crash in the French Alps. Very difficult, remote terrain. I wonder if they'll recover all of the wreckage, especially since there's very little doubt as to the cause of the crash -- no need to reconstruct the aircraft.
Very nice video, thanks for sharing! I recently read the book about the incident and its aftermath: The Crash of TWA Flight 260, by Charles Williams, one of the people involved in the initial recovery efforts. The book can be found in the Albuquerque Public Library. Very interesting to read all about who the passengers and crew were, the investigation of the crash, the different speculation about how the plane got off course, the recovery efforts, and the lives of people affected by the crash. Actually many Boy Scout troops participated in the search for the missing airplane, because one of the passengers was a Boy Scout leader.
Until I read the book I didn't realize that radar wasn't in use at the time and nobody knew where the plane had crashed, just that the plane never showed up at its destination in Santa Fe. The crash was not seen or heard by anyone on the ground. Families who were waiting for loved ones to arrive were never told by TWA why they didn't make it and only found out from newspapers later. The day after the plane went missing a massive search took place involving hundreds of searchers in the air and on land. Since the plane was so thoroughly destroyed it was very difficult to find on the snowy mountain. The pilot who was assigned to search in the area where it was found said he had circled over the area about 15 times before he saw it.
There was a big reunion of family members of crash victims on the 50th anniversary of the crash when some hiked up to the site and placed a memorial. (Edit to add: I think they hiked DOWN to the site which is more easily reached from the Crest above)
Very nice video, thanks for sharing! I recently read the book about the incident and its aftermath: The Crash of TWA Flight 260, by Charles Williams, one of the people involved in the initial recovery efforts. The book can be found in the Albuquerque Public Library. Very interesting to read all about who the passengers and crew were, the investigation of the crash, the different speculation about how the plane got off course, the recovery efforts, and the lives of people affected by the crash. Actually many Boy Scout troops participated in the search for the missing airplane, because one of the passengers was a Boy Scout leader.
Until I read the book I didn't realize that radar wasn't in use at the time and nobody knew where the plane had crashed, just that the plane never showed up at its destination in Santa Fe. The crash was not seen or heard by anyone on the ground. Families who were waiting for loved ones to arrive were never told by TWA why they didn't make it and only found out from newspapers later. The day after the plane went missing a massive search took place involving hundreds of searchers in the air and on land. Since the plane was so thoroughly destroyed it was very difficult to find on the snowy mountain. The pilot who was assigned to search in the area where it was found said he had circled over the area about 15 times before he saw it.
There was a big reunion of family members of crash victims on the 50th anniversary of the crash when some hiked up to the site and placed a memorial. (Edit to add: I think they hiked DOWN to the site which is more easily reached from the Crest above)
No radar. So they really had no idea where it went at all. I also read that the flight investigation's initial conclusion was that the pilots made a suicide pact, which was borderline ridiculous. Later, they found it was a compass error that led the pilots thinking they were going north when in fact they were going northeast…
Awesome event for the scouts I bet. Thanks for the vid. I hiked a bit of that trail but pressed for time so I ended it at the first steep descent maybe a mile in. So cool to see kids actually OUTSIDE doing things!
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