Forum Index > Pacific NW History > Info wanted on 1962 F-102 fighter jet crash on Peninsula
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
Schroder
Member
Member


Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 6696 | TRs | Pics
Location: on the beach
Schroder
Member
PostFri Aug 15, 2008 8:14 am 
Jeepasaurusrex wrote:
You talking about the P-38 up on Baker? There is a PBY on Dolbergs Hill outside Granite Falls. I have searched lots of maps and cannot locate Dolbergs hill.
That's the one. It's in the Pasayten Wilderness near Three Fools Creek. The PI ran an article here. I'm not sure where Dolbergs Hill is but a PBY rings a bell. There's a Dahlberg Mountain just outside of Granite. Another one I forgot because I was in Alaska when it happened was the Piper that crashed into Glacier Peak at the 10000 ft level in 1983 with 5 fatalities. A lot of that wreckage is still there. The guys in Mtn Rescue before me also talked about a large plane that crashed into Wheeler Mountain in about 1960. They witnessed the crash when they were coming down from another operation around Glacier Peak.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
mossy mom
Member
Member


Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 1852 | TRs | Pics
mossy mom
Member
PostTue Aug 19, 2008 10:46 am 
Cye Laramie is searching this hillside for a plane wreck
Cye Laramie is searching this hillside for a plane wreck
Is this the hillside being searched? Is wonder Mountain in this photo?

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Phil
Member
Member


Joined: 02 Jul 2003
Posts: 2025 | TRs | Pics
Location: Shoreline, WA
Phil
Member
PostTue Aug 19, 2008 11:53 am 
Couldn't say, myself. Wonder is more recognizeable from southern views that take in the zig-zag loggin road that starts up its south slopes; one approach begins at end of that road. Bet Cye has better answer re: the pic. Where is it from?

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
mossy mom
Member
Member


Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 1852 | TRs | Pics
mossy mom
Member
PostTue Aug 19, 2008 12:27 pm 
Phil wrote:
Couldn't say, myself. Wonder is more recognizeable from southern views that take in the zig-zag loggin road that starts up its south slopes; one approach begins at end of that road. Bet Cye has better answer re: the pic. Where is it from?
Took it from near Sundown Pass

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Phil
Member
Member


Joined: 02 Jul 2003
Posts: 2025 | TRs | Pics
Location: Shoreline, WA
Phil
Member
PostThu Aug 21, 2008 1:32 pm 
pest wrote:
Cye Laramie is searching this hillside for a plane wreck
Cye Laramie is searching this hillside for a plane wreck
Is this the hillside being searched? Is wonder Mountain in this photo?
I sat down with my custom correct in front of me and that pic does seem to match well the peaks of that ridge, with Wonder being the last one you can see on the right of the pic. If the weather forecast stays good, this Saturday I'll be thrashing around in the brush somewhere in the middle of the pic.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
mossy mom
Member
Member


Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 1852 | TRs | Pics
mossy mom
Member
PostThu Aug 21, 2008 2:27 pm 
Phil wrote:
pest wrote:
Cye Laramie is searching this hillside for a plane wreck
Cye Laramie is searching this hillside for a plane wreck
Is this the hillside being searched? Is wonder Mountain in this photo?
I sat down with my custom correct in front of me and that pic does seem to match well the peaks of that ridge, with Wonder being the last one you can see on the right of the pic. If the weather forecast stays good, this Saturday I'll be thrashing around in the brush somewhere in the middle of the pic.
Bring lots of Deet and a headnet! What will your aproach be, I mean what road are you coming in off of.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Phil
Member
Member


Joined: 02 Jul 2003
Posts: 2025 | TRs | Pics
Location: Shoreline, WA
Phil
Member
PostFri Aug 22, 2008 7:27 pm 
pest wrote:
Bring lots of Deet and a headnet! What will your aproach be, I mean what road are you coming in off of.
You're scaring me! Plan is to depart from the upper south fork skok trailhead and at the point where the trail starts weaving up on the west side of the skok, cross back to the east side of the river and crash up the Snowfield drainage.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
mossy mom
Member
Member


Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 1852 | TRs | Pics
mossy mom
Member
PostFri Aug 22, 2008 10:20 pm 
Phil wrote:
pest wrote:
Bring lots of Deet and a headnet! What will your aproach be, I mean what road are you coming in off of.
You're scaring me! Plan is to depart from the upper south fork skok trailhead and at the point where the trail starts weaving up on the west side of the skok, cross back to the east side of the river and crash up the Snowfield drainage.
Be sure it's 100% Deet!

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
furrowhopper
Member
Member


Joined: 22 Aug 2008
Posts: 4 | TRs | Pics
Location: West side
furrowhopper
Member
PostSat Aug 23, 2008 12:09 am 
F-102, lost November 1962
After 46 years it is great to find a continuing interest in the story. I am relating the incident as remembered. That morning, I was elk hunting on opening day, Saturday, on the Hoh River, parking the car at a gravel pit on the west side of Willoughby Creek and climbing about 200' in elevation to the top of the first bench north of the Rain Forest road. Then I walked a little more than 1/4 mile on fairly level ground,through a stand of timber to a logging road that is at the foot of the main ridge. Walking eastward on the gravel road, I saw another hunter, facing away, sitting on a 4' diameter stump. He was all tensed up, very dangerous to startle, so I quietly sat on the stump near the butt of his rifle stock, then asked him what time it was. Not being able to whirl around, he finally relaxed and asked how long I had been sitting there. I said about 5 minutes-actually it was more like 10 seconds. Anyway, he told me the time, it was sometime near 10AM, I now have forgotten. We chatted briefly and cordially for about 5 minutes, then I began walking westward on the gravel road for about 500 feet. There was a very loud explosion from behind a spur ridge to the northeast, then a second one, within one or two seconds, which sound a bit different in intensity. I recalled my thoughts, from behind a large spruce, "I hope that 900 Magnum is pointed the other way." Perhaps 3 to 10 seconds later, another less loud noise sounded in the same general direction, but I could not identify it as an explosion. No air noise of any aircraft was heard prior. I started back to speak to the hunter, but he apparently rejoined his companions that were easterly on the road. Later reports were that the F-102 was supposed to have run out of fuel about that time. There were quite a lot of low clouds and fog in the valley that day. The next day the sun came out for a while, and a "flying boxcar" with twin tailbooms, patrolled up and down the Hoh valley several times, thoroughly spooking any elk. I am reasonably certain that the first explosion was whatever panel, canopy that needed to be disposed of, and the second was the seat ejection shot. The indistinguishable noise being the impact. The search had terminated several days before I went into Forks to report it at a local sporting goods store. An elderly resident, outside, about 6 miles to the east stated that he heard a noise that, "sounded like a truckload of culvert pipe hitting a tree." He placed the location at the head of Dismal Creek, 2 miles west of his position. This would place it in the Bogachiel River drainage, somewhere north of Spruce Mountain. The sounds could have carried 15 miles or more, given proper conditions, altitude and topographic aspect. This happened just after the Columbus Day storm, in which the tops of many thousand trees were snapped off, making it impossible to use broken trees as as an indicator of aircraft impact. Old snags and logs on the ground take on a white or silvery weathered sheen, adding to the difficulty of identifying wreckage. In about 1959, an F-80 flamed out 30 miles over the ocean and glided to about 2 miles west of the stump with a succesful bailout of both airmen. The plane had not been located for several days, when I was driving toward Forks, I notice a prominent hemlock tree, half way up the sidehill, which appeared to be entirely dead, brown limbs, etc. A faint wisp of smoke was coming from it which I reported to the State Forestry folks and pointed out the location on a topog map. They sent a crew in and verified it was the F-80. A few years later a logging road was built within a quarter of a mile, and I was able to verify what had happened. The plane went down nose-first, burying itself (crumpling) to the back of the wing roots, reposing at a 45 degree slope. Very few tree branches were broken off. Burning of excess fuel on wet ground managed to scorch the 120' hemlock to the top. Some fire damage to the fuselage. The dense stand of 8"-10" second growth hemlock served hid the wreckage from visibility from the air. I have visited 3 other aircraft impact areas which had much the same tree cover conditions, only one of which had a large load of jet fuel and burning within 1/4 mile of Highway 101.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
furrowhopper
Member
Member


Joined: 22 Aug 2008
Posts: 4 | TRs | Pics
Location: West side
furrowhopper
Member
PostSat Aug 23, 2008 11:14 am 
Lost F-102 November 1962
Please see my posting 8/22/08

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
mossy mom
Member
Member


Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 1852 | TRs | Pics
mossy mom
Member
PostSat Aug 23, 2008 12:24 pm 
Re: Lost F-102 November 1962
furrowhopper wrote:
Please see my posting 8/22/08
Is this the same crash that Cye is looking for? He had accounts from hunters on the Church Creek Trail who heard an explosion North of them.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
furrowhopper
Member
Member


Joined: 22 Aug 2008
Posts: 4 | TRs | Pics
Location: West side
furrowhopper
Member
PostSat Aug 23, 2008 12:55 pm 
Cye, If your link is still active; please see my posting on the F-102 with today's date, (8/23/2008). I hope it will help in the closure process by sparking interest in a possibly productive search area. Regards, furrowhopper

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
furrowhopper
Member
Member


Joined: 22 Aug 2008
Posts: 4 | TRs | Pics
Location: West side
furrowhopper
Member
PostSat Aug 23, 2008 1:07 pm 
F-102, November 1962
I am referring to an F-102 piloted by Capt. Lucas. In those days, we didn't pay much attention to sonic booms, but none of the noises sounded like one.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
cye
Member
Member


Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 31 | TRs | Pics
Location: Sedro Woolley
cye
Member
PostSat Aug 23, 2008 8:00 pm 
crash location
I am speach less. This is the most incredible witness account I have heard to date and if you are correct, I am way off in my estimates of where the crash occurred. Now I am wondering what the hunters heard in the Church Creek area that morning. Thanks for the contact and I will be in touch. Cye

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
captain jack
Serving suggestion



Joined: 25 May 2004
Posts: 3389 | TRs | Pics
Location: Upper Fidalgo
captain jack
Serving suggestion
PostSat Aug 23, 2008 9:25 pm 
Phil wrote:
I sat down with my custom correct in front of me and that pic does seem to match well the peaks of that ridge, with Wonder being the last one you can see on the right of the pic. If the weather forecast stays good, this Saturday I'll be thrashing around in the brush somewhere in the middle of the pic.
It was brutal up on that ridge today. There was two types of flies. Little blacks ones that stung like a hornet when they bit, and these HUGE flies. Flies so big, and I'm not making this up, that when I smashed them as hard as I could, it just stunned them, and they flew away to orbit a couple of times before returning for another round. I Deeted up with the full strength stuff, 25% Deet. Well that kept the small biters at bay, looking for any nooks and crannies I missed, but the big ones werent even phased. eek.gif Plus you're pretty much a captive on those slopes, you cant move very fast, and there was no breeze today, so they pretty much had thier way with me. Funny thing was, when I got back to the Skok TH at Harps, the flies were pretty much gone. confused.gif And I thought he was looking for that plane on the ridges above the Wynoochee drainage, north of Three Peaks. I think it was mentioned somewhere that he was looking on the south side of a ridge running from east to west. The Skok drainage is more of north to south ridge. But I'm not sure, he could be sloggin around up there with those giant flies right now. I sure didnt see any wreckage today.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Pacific NW History > Info wanted on 1962 F-102 fighter jet crash on Peninsula
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum