Historic Aircraft Wrecks of San Diego County (Disaster) by Macha G. Pat

Author:Macha, G. Pat [Macha, G. Pat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2016-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

Adeline Jones was only nineteen when she boarded Western Airlines Flight 44 at Holtville, California, on December 24, 1946. Courtesy Olivia Taylor.

The Vought F4U Corsair was one of the finest navy and marine fighter-bomber aircraft of the Second World War and continued to be into the 1950s, as more advanced variants were produced. The F4U-4 was powered by a 2,100-horsepower, Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine that enabled this version of the Corsair to achieve almost 450 miles per hour in level flight. Armed with six .50-caliber guns and able to carry more than two thousand pounds of bombs and rockets, it was a formidable carrier or land-based strike aircraft.

Drifting off the assigned flight path while flying in clouds or darkness can lead to accidents, but even those flying on the beam can come to grief if the altimeter is not carefully monitored.

On February 26, 1947, F4U-4 Bu No 81140, assigned to navy squadron VRF-1, was being ferried to NAS San Diego via Tucson, Arizona, by a young ensign. He collided with a cloud-covered ridge on the north flank of 4,167-foot Chiquito Peak. Death was instantaneous for the pilot as his Corsair came apart, catapulting the R-2800 engine more than four hundred yards beyond where the cockpit came to rest. The author visited the crash site in the Cleveland National Forest in March 2007. There was almost no fire damage, but a widely scattered debris field spanned nearly half a mile. If the pilot had been 100 feet higher, he would have flown out of the clouds over El Cajon with an unhindered view of his destination.

Military aircraft accidents in San Diego County increased during the early 1950s as training activities associated with the Korean War built up. The civilian accident rate increased as more private aircraft were sold. Civilian aviation enjoyed a heyday thanks in part to low fuel prices and low operating and maintenance costs. Some transport aircraft were used to carry cargo, including fresh produce, livestock and fish.

The United Mexican States became an increasingly important supplier of fresh produce and fish during the 1950s. The most efficient way to transport perishable commodities such as fruits and vegetables is by air transport. Aerovias Contreras, S.A., operated two war surplus Curtiss C-46F Commando transport aircraft flying on a non-scheduled basis from La Paz in Baja California, Del Sur to San Diego. San Diego Sky Freight employed the C-46F pilots, but the aircraft was licensed and maintained in Mexico. It had operated safely for six years when tragedy struck on the night of March 30, 1952.

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