West White Pine Mtn C-46

Name West White Pine Mtn C-46
CAP data 4037N 10528W 16NOV58,C46,N1310N,N SD W WHT PINE MT/MSTLY RMVD,12.5
GPS coords 40 36 53 105 28 42 by GPS
GPS decimal 40.61463  105.47839
UTM
Datum used NAD 27
County Larimer County, CO.

Nov. 16, 1958

Pima Museum's C-46
"Photo by John Sepp. Courtesy of the Pima Air and Space Museum

(Click on picture to get enlarged image)
swath looking uphill aerial swath in trees on hillside swath looking downhill
Site has 1 gear leg "scar on the mountain" view from air Site looking north

The wreck cause:  Unknown.  IFR from Denver to Hill AFB.   Nov. 16, 1958

Casualties:   Pilot  Frank L. Courtell, Capitol Airways  (Corrected name)

                      Co-Pilot Calvin Cloud, Capitol Airways

                       Navigator - ??

Email note received from the son of the pilot during Feb. 2003:

I have a correction - the name of the pilot was 'Frank LaVern Courtell'. The newspapers, at the time of the crash, printed the wrong name - his wife's nickname was 'Birdy' - they were avid golfers.

It crashed during a snow storm while trying to turn back to denver - or so we were told. But we were also told that the plane was mostly in one piece - they took 4 days just to get to it.

I was only 13 years old when my father died - they probably held back some of the details from me and my younger sister.

I wish I could tell you more - but it was a long time ago.

Thanks - Frank Courtell

Site Description:. Opening in the forest with aspens growing thru. Melted aluminum, a landing gear leg, perhaps a fuselage door, piping, tubing, misc bits. (It's entirely possible the plane was in one piece after the crash. I simply have no info about that. - Ron)

Best route Easiest way to get there is to take the Pingree Park road from Colo. Hwy 14 (Poudre Canyon). Head south on the PP road to across from the Jack’s Gulch Recreation area. Turn onto the Flowers road headed east. (4WD required from here) Go approximately 2 miles. There are two ridges that the road climbs. After the road descends from the second ridge there is a bermed off road leading to the right just as the main road makes a left. (Coords are : 40 37 24.2 N 105 29 05.4 W .) Followed this bermed road to the wrecksite You should be able to find a few scraps of aluminum here and there in the road which probably fell off the trucks as the wreckage was being hauled away.

Trips to find the C-46 (no pictures)

Home Moggie!  

 

Last Modified: 1/1/2008