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| Monument Canyon and T-6D Wreckage, AZ | |
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| | Monument Canyon and T-6D Wreckage, AZ | | | |
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Monument Canyon and T-6D Wreckage, AZ
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| Hiking | 5.93 Miles |
1,785 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.93 Miles | 7 Hrs 6 Mns | | 1.62 mph |
| 1,785 ft AEG | 3 Hrs 27 Mns Break | | | |
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none
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| no partners | | This is my 3rd hike into Monument Canyon in the last 15 years.
The first hike was into the west inner canyon and the 2nd was into the east inner canyon. Without it being the goal of those first two hikes, I still found some wreckage from an aircraft that crashed over 66 years ago.
Background
—On 25 Aug 1948 at 7:05 AM, Air Cadets Kirkman and Freeman (both Air Force student pilots) took off from Williams AFB in a T-6D aircraft (serial #44-81553A), on an instrument ‘team’ training mission. The mission was to practice flying basic instruments and navigation, staying in the local area. (local area meaning in and around the Phoenix valley). Weather conditions were excellent.
—At 8:10 AM they landed back at the base, refueled, switched seats and took off again at 8:37 AM. The front seater would make the takeoffs and landings and act as safety observer, while the back seat student would practice flying only by reference to his flight instruments.
—At 9:20 AM, another plane reported a plane had crashed 14 miles NE of the AF base.
—The Air Cadets’ T-6D had hit that middle ridge in Monument Canyon.
—Both Air Cadets sustained fatal injuries.
—Accident investigators reported the T-6D had crashed at an elevation of about 3,500 feet, on a heading of 150 degrees, doing about 170 mph, flying almost level but in a steep right bank.
—Wreckage was scattered for 1/2 mile from the impact point and 600 feet either side.
—Cause of the accident was determined as ‘unknown’.
This Hike
This time I hiked into the east inner canyon, almost to the end, then went up on the middle ridgeline that separates the E and W inner canyons. I then went down into the W canyon & out.
I was looking for as many pieces of aircraft wreckage that I could find. I found over 50 individual pieces, big and small, and also explored the actual impact sight atop the middle ridgeline.
Earlier triplogs/photosets have documented many of the wreck pieces, so I’m not breaking new ground. I just went on a full blown aluminum hunt.
Monument Canyon is almost right next to the Flatiron in the Superstitions.
I started from the Broadway TH and took the trail to the entrance of the valley. From then on it’s a bushwhack.
Most of the remaining aircraft wreckage is near the area of impact, and in the east canyon. This makes sense as the ‘route-of-flight’ was from the NW to the SE. (The student pilots had to have flown just west of the Flatiron prior to hitting that middle ridge in Monument Canyon).
This hike took a long time, as I was stopping and scanning for wreckage almost constantly. Shiny aluminum is easy to see on a sunny day in desert terrain, if you’re in the correct spot. I marked each wreckage location I found with a waypoint. (Over 20 ‘locations’, with numerous pieces at each spot). I’m sure I missed some pieces, but I tried to be thorough.
I have photos taken by the 1948 Air Force team that investigated the accident site. I was successful in taking some current photos from the same 1948 photo locations, for comparison and verification of the impact sight.
(No new ground here either, as wallyfrack pointed out the impact site in one of his photos he took from across the far east canyon wall a couple months ago).
This was a good, successful hike, yet I was fully aware I was walking around in an area of a terrible fatal aircraft accident. The two Air Cadets were just starting their military aviation careers when it all came to an end. |
| _____________________
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
J.R.R.TOLKIEN |
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