Forum Index > Pacific NW History > Info wanted on 1962 F-102 fighter jet crash on Peninsula
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Timber Cruiser
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PostTue Aug 23, 2005 5:01 pm 
I saw a letter to the editor in the Aberdeen "Daily World" today from an aviation historian/archaeologist who specializes in military avition mishaps in Washington State. He says he was recently asked to assist in a renewed search effort for an Air Force F-102 fighter/interceptor that vanished along with its pilot, Capt. Robert Lucas, between lake Cushman and Lake Quinault on Nov. 10, 1962. Apparantly, Capt. Lucas's family is still seeking closure on his disapearance. It's believed that Capt. Lucas ejected just west of the South Fork Skokomish River. A massive search effort failed to find him. There were reports from a number of hunters that heard an explosion somewhere in the Wynooche watershed on the same day. The writer notes that the F-102 was a delta-wing super-sonic jet and would have most likely left a large crater at the point of impact. He also notes that this is not the F-102 that crashed a couple miles north of the Schafer Game Farm in July, 1962. His contact information is: Cye Laramie 360-459-3117 8501 Baird Road N.E. Olympia, WA 98516

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Phil
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PostFri Aug 26, 2005 8:21 pm 
Boy, if I had a free Summer (lol!) I can think of far worse ways of spending it than combing through the wilds of South-SW Olympics... One can dream.

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Gil
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PostFri Jul 25, 2008 9:24 pm 
Wow -- dedication!

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Magellan
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PostFri Jul 25, 2008 10:12 pm 
Does this read that not one trace has been found? No plane, no ejection seat, no person?

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cye
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PostSat Jul 26, 2008 3:04 pm 
Missing F-102
No trace of plane or pilot has ever been reported found. This wreckage is now nearly 46 years old and may seem insignificant to anyone who may have stumbled upon it with the exception, of course, to the pilot's remains. In 1965 a parachute and wreckage were "rediscovered" on the old LeBar homestead on the South Fork Skokomish River. This discovery lead to rumors that the missing F-102 and pilot had been found. These items were in fact left over from a 1954 collision of two F-86's which collided and fell on the southwest side of Mt. Tebo. One of these jets actually started a forest fire which burned down the old LeBar home and out buildings. I have been working on the F-102 case for over three years and have now indeed centered my search on the canyon rim between Sundown Pass and Wonder Mountain. I believe have a pretty sound theory as to why I think the wreckage will be found there and will probably spend the better part of my summer searching the upper canyon wall. I generally hike and explore alone but due to age and recent lack of agility, I would consider hiking companions. So if you know of anyone, send them my way. I would really like to find some one who is familiar with the upper canyon area on the east side of the river.

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Magellan
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PostSat Jul 26, 2008 3:18 pm 
Thanks for checking in Cye, your website is great. I would love to help you do this. I probably will not have time until fall starts. If I help you could find the wreckage and help their family member acheive some peace that would mean a lot to me.

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Phil
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PostSat Jul 26, 2008 5:59 pm 
Hi Cye, I've gone into the Wonder mt wilderness a few times and while I don't claim any specialized knowledge, would love to help out. I'm not intimidated by brush, long days/miles and burly terrain. PM if you want to set something up or have suggestions for areas you would like surveyed. Be happy to just cruise an area with your guidance on methods etc.

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cye
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PostTue Jul 29, 2008 9:34 am 
I want to thank everybody for the offers of help and also for the encouragement. I should add that my contact information at the beginning of this post is no longer current. I have been a member here since Sept '05 so it is best to just e-mail me if anyone happens to find anything. I plan on being back in there again this weekend searching the upper canyon wall just east of Sundown Pass.

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Jeepasaurusrex
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PostTue Jul 29, 2008 2:05 pm 
I wonder if there is anything like a airborne metal detector someone could use to "map" a larger area for further investigation? Kind of like side scanning sonar for underwater searches. biggrin.gif

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cye
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PostWed Jul 30, 2008 10:08 pm 
I believe there is technology similar to this that does exist but finding someone with the equipment and willing to donate it and their time is quite another matter. I was corresponding with a man who had formerly worked for NASA. He was experimenting with satellite imagery and different types of ground signatures. It was a little more hi-tech then my brain could absorb but he thought he might be able to use it to find plane wreckage. Last I heard, it still hadn't panned out.

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Schroder
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PostThu Jul 31, 2008 7:33 am 
Is there a resource for finding out how many aircraft are missing in Washington State? I was doing a ground search around Mt St Helens in the '70s and told at the time there were half a dozen missing civilian aircraft just in the area we were searching. Don't know if that was true or not.

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Jeepasaurusrex
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PostSun Aug 03, 2008 8:11 pm 
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp

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cye
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PostTue Aug 05, 2008 7:57 am 
missing aircraft
I do not know of any complete record of all the missing aircraft thought to be in Washington State. I was told at one time that the number was probably well over a hundred with military and civilian aircraft combined. Many of these were believed to have been lost to the depths of Puget Sound, Strait of Juan De Fuca, and the Pacific along the coast but no doubt the mountains do continue to conceal a good number of these missing planes.

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Obi Tony Kenobi
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PostTue Aug 05, 2008 11:16 pm 
Timber Cruiser wrote:
There were reports from a number of hunters that heard an explosion somewhere in the Wynooche watershed on the same day. The writer notes that the F-102 was a delta-wing super-sonic jet and would have most likely left a large crater at the point of impact.
Well it just happens to be that I actually majored in Aviation in college and that statement about the F-102 Delta Dagger most likely leaving a crater is false. The F-102 was a supersonic interceptor, but it doesn't mean mean it flew supersonic all the time, in fact, if you want to loose fuel fast, supersonic is the way to do it. For that aircraft to have left a crater, it would have had to come in at a very steep angle, and planes just don't stop flying and drop out of the sky. It most likely flew in out of control and crashed with the aircraft breaking up and the explosion being the JP-4 jet fuel conbusting. This wouldn't have left a crater, but would have spread the wreckage over a wide area.

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cye
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PostWed Aug 06, 2008 3:41 pm 
Super sonic was just a description of the aircraft, besides I thought we all knew that breaking the sound barrier was prohibited over the Continental United States. Being as you seem to have quite a bit of knowledge in this area, would you happen to know what year super sonic speed and the resulting "boom" was prohibited over the US? I can remember hearing sonic booms fairly frequently as a child but can not remember what year they stopped. The thought of the F-102 leaving a large crater was given to me by pilots who flew the F-102 and who knew the missing pilot, Capt. Lucas. Their thought was that if the wreckage was strewn out over a large area, some one would have found it by now so the belief was that it must have gone in at a steep angle into soft ground. My own belief now is that it struck a rock face or peak, exploded, and fell into heavy timber below. The jet would have been fairly low on fuel at the time of the accident. I have no idea how long the wreckage would have burned as it was raining heavily at the time in that area. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. This is a tragic forty-six year old mystery. You are obviously more educated in this field then myself but you don't need to be so cynical about it. What I need is constructive help.

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