This article needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2021) |
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 30 December 1946 - 12 January 1947 |
Summary | Severe weather |
Site | Thurston Island, Antarctica |
Aircraft type | Martin PBM Mariner |
Operator | United States Navy |
Registration | 59098 |
Crew | 9 |
Fatalities | 3 |
Survivors | 6 |
The 1946 Antarctica PBM Mariner crash occurred on 30 December 1946, on Thurston Island, Antarctica when a United States Navy Martin PBM-5 Mariner crashed during a blizzard. [1] [2] Buno 59098 was one of 4 aircraft lost during Operation Highjump. [2]
The aircraft based from USS Pine Island (AV-12), [2] Bureau Number 59098, callsign "George 1", hit a ridge and burned while supporting Operation Highjump. [2] The crash instantly killed Ensign Maxwell A. Lopez and Petty Officer Wendell K. Hendersin. [2] Two hours later, Petty Officer Frederick Williams also died. [2] Six crewmembers survived the crash, Aviation Radioman James H. Robbins, pilot Ralph "Frenchy" LeBlanc, co-pilot William Kearns, photographer Owen McCarty, Plane Captain J.D. Dickens, and Pine Island Captain H.H. Caldwell, a guest observer on the flight. They were rescued 13 days later by an aircraft from Pine Island. LeBlanc was so frostbitten from the conditions that a quadruple amputation was performed on him. [1] His legs were amputated on the Philippine Sea, a ship that was part of the rescue, and his arms were amputated later in Rhode Island. [1] Hendersin, Williams, and Lopez were buried at the crash site and their remains have not been recovered. [1] [2]
In 2004, during a surveying flight, a Chilean navy airplane flew over the site using ground penetrating radar to discover the exact location. [3] [4] A two-expedition recovery mission was planned, but subsequently cancelled, for both November 2008 and November 2009 to recover the three fatalities of the crash from their temporary grave. [5] [3] In 2012, another group announced plans to drill 100 ft (30 m) down to recover the bodies. [4] Rich Lopez, nephew of Maxwell Lopez, was part of the plan. [4] However the group struggled to raise the $1.5-3.5 million dollars they would need. [4]
This article needs additional citations for
verification. (July 2021) |
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 30 December 1946 - 12 January 1947 |
Summary | Severe weather |
Site | Thurston Island, Antarctica |
Aircraft type | Martin PBM Mariner |
Operator | United States Navy |
Registration | 59098 |
Crew | 9 |
Fatalities | 3 |
Survivors | 6 |
The 1946 Antarctica PBM Mariner crash occurred on 30 December 1946, on Thurston Island, Antarctica when a United States Navy Martin PBM-5 Mariner crashed during a blizzard. [1] [2] Buno 59098 was one of 4 aircraft lost during Operation Highjump. [2]
The aircraft based from USS Pine Island (AV-12), [2] Bureau Number 59098, callsign "George 1", hit a ridge and burned while supporting Operation Highjump. [2] The crash instantly killed Ensign Maxwell A. Lopez and Petty Officer Wendell K. Hendersin. [2] Two hours later, Petty Officer Frederick Williams also died. [2] Six crewmembers survived the crash, Aviation Radioman James H. Robbins, pilot Ralph "Frenchy" LeBlanc, co-pilot William Kearns, photographer Owen McCarty, Plane Captain J.D. Dickens, and Pine Island Captain H.H. Caldwell, a guest observer on the flight. They were rescued 13 days later by an aircraft from Pine Island. LeBlanc was so frostbitten from the conditions that a quadruple amputation was performed on him. [1] His legs were amputated on the Philippine Sea, a ship that was part of the rescue, and his arms were amputated later in Rhode Island. [1] Hendersin, Williams, and Lopez were buried at the crash site and their remains have not been recovered. [1] [2]
In 2004, during a surveying flight, a Chilean navy airplane flew over the site using ground penetrating radar to discover the exact location. [3] [4] A two-expedition recovery mission was planned, but subsequently cancelled, for both November 2008 and November 2009 to recover the three fatalities of the crash from their temporary grave. [5] [3] In 2012, another group announced plans to drill 100 ft (30 m) down to recover the bodies. [4] Rich Lopez, nephew of Maxwell Lopez, was part of the plan. [4] However the group struggled to raise the $1.5-3.5 million dollars they would need. [4]