Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of the American West

TB-25N
1/26/56
 

The North American Aviation B-25 enjoyed a long career in the USAAF and USAF. During the 1950’s the venerable Mitchell bomber served as a crew trainer and staff transport. The B-25 was not retired from USAF ranks until 1959. The TB-25N was one of forty-seven rebuilt by Hayes Aircraft. The primary difference between the TB-25N and the more common TB-25J were the R-2600-29A engines.

On 1/26/56 NAA TB-25N serial number 44-86805 was en route from Goodfellow AFB in Texas to Norton AFB in Southern California with a crew of four on board. At about 8:00PM on 1/26 44-86805 was posted overdue and a search effort began the following morning. No trace of the TB-25N was seen until 2/2/56 when a search plane reported a possible crash site location on the south flank of Mt. San Gorgonio at about 9,000’ MSL. On 2/3/56 a ground search and rescue team reached the crash site late in the day forcing them to bivouac next to wreckage. After a difficult night enduring low temperatures and deep snow the team confirmed that there were no survivors, and that the plane in question was indeed the missing TB-25N.

Killed in the crash was pilot, Captain Bill F. Shotwell, copilot, 2^nd Lt. Alvin P. Stearns, and crewmen Airman 1^st Class H. L. Hill, and Airman 1^st Class A. Doman, Jr. The accident report issued by the USAF cited bad weather as a factor in this crash. Only a short distance NE of 44-86805 is the wreck of USAF C-47B 45-1124 that crashed 12/1/52 with loss of thirteen lives, also en route to Norton AFB in a blinding snow storm.

My first attempt to reach the wreck of 44-86805 was in the summer of 1966. I hiked from Barton Flats to a camp site at Lodgepole Springs in the San Gorgonio Wilderness. After a night at Lodgepole I climbed “Old Greyback” and then trekked south to Tosh’s Tarn the high level dry lake, from there I continued southeasterly to within a mile of 44-86805, but lack of water and the approach of sunset forced me to return to Lodgepole. On 11/15/07 while en route to search for a WWII era B-24J in the Joshua Tree National Park area I was able to see the wreck of TB-25N 44-86805 thanks to the excellent piloting of George Petterson in his Piper Super Cub.

Few hikers have reached the remains of the TB-25N, and a very few have come via the route I tried so long ago. The best way in is still tough via Raywood Flat north of the Banning Pass, and south of the Gorgonio summit.

Official USAF aerial photo of the TB-25Ncrash site taken in the summer of 1959.	What geography looks like in the San Gorgonio Wilderness near the crash site of TB-25N 44-86805. (Photo by G. P. Macha)
The bright shine of unburned aluminum is unmistakable in this photo of 44-86805’s concentrated wreckage, undisturbed since that fateful night in 1956. (Photo by G.P. Macha)	Another view of the TB-25N crash site with the shadow of the Super Cub included.
When a helicopter is not available the next best aircraft is the ubiquitous Piper Super Cub, and this beauty belongs to master pilot, George Petterson.
On 11/20/08 I flew again with George Petterson in an effort to obtain better close-up photos of #44-86805. These two images show the wreck as unburned, concentrated, and in remarkable condition. An overland expedition is being planned for the late spring of 2009 to visit this site.