B-17F Wreck in the White Mountains, Arizona

B-17F Crash in the White Mountains on March 3 1943

Sitting in Student Health at the University of Arizona, I wondered what I should tell the doctor. I was there getting stitches on several fingers after cutting them open while pulling on old, partially buried, aircraft debris in the Chiricahua Mountains. Not to date myself, but at the time wreckchasing wasn't well known or (I hate to say this) popular. I figured the doctor would ask me, "What happen?" "Where were you?" "What kind of metal did you cut your fingers on?" etc. I just wanted to get my fingers fixed, not incur a big bill, and get back to class.

When the doctor walked in, I was hesitant to explain the details. However, as soon as the doctor started cleaning the wounds and stitching up my fingers, I became very talkative. Talking away seemed like a better option than watching my fingers get stitched up. I explained to the doctor that I was looking at a WWII era wreck when the injury occurred. I told him about my research and that the plane was on a training flight from Douglas Army Air Field. When I was done talking, the doctor said he had a cabin in the White Mountains that was built by the mother of a soldier who died in a plane crash in the White Mountains. Wow! This came as a surprise. While doing my research on a B-17 wreck in the White Mountains, I came across several old timers who told me about a lady who built a cabin close to the crash site. She would come to the cabin in the summer to be close to her son. Here's the story I shared with the doctor.

On March 3, 1943, B-17F (42-29565) crashed approximately 180 miles off course in the White Mountains of Arizona at approximately 9500 feet. Nine men died in the crash. The aircraft was on a student navigation training flight. On this leg of the trip, the plane was going from Portland, Oregon, to Las Vegas, Nevada. While the search was on for the B-17F, another B-17 crashed on March 5, 1943, in the mountains North of Flagstaff. Not that the March 5th crashed pulled resources away from the March 3rd wreck, but search teams such as the Civil Air Patrol were having a tough time even narrowing the search area for the B-17F. On March 17, the search was called off. In May, Senator Harry Truman contacted the Army Air Forces wanting to know if any searches were made in Mexico. As the printout read, "Senator particularly wants to know extent of search if any made in Mexico..."

In July 1943, two events led to the crash site. Range riding cowboys came across the body of one of the soldiers several miles from the crash. The soldier survived the wreck, made some make shift crutches, and was trying to hike to safety. Once word got around that a dead soldier was located, an intense search was conducted in the mountainous area. The smashed plane was eventually discovered among Aspen trees.

The wreck site today is easily accessible, but very small debris remains. I've walked the distance from the crash site to where the cowboys came across the dead soldier.