Small plane missing in Yosemite near North Dome

Search
Go

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List
This thread has been locked
Messages 41 - 60 of total 63 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
TomCochrane

Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
Dec 21, 2012 - 02:19am PT
thanks for the very coherent and informative posts

i have flown my Comanche 250 across the Sierras several times this year, and i like to go across at max legal VFR altitude with oxygen, and avoiding the highest terrain, and using 'flight following'

even so the controllers usually can't see me all the way on radar, leaving a lot of terrain to cover if i have to look for someplace to put it down

and i always mentally keep in mind where i will go if the engine comes apart, usually several miles from my current position

but i am a fair weather flyer and wouldn't touch the weather we have been having lately

after a few dicey flights in my younger years, i made myself a deal to never take off just because i needed to be somewhere

i always drive to the airport prepared to drive instead of fly

i only fly if every thing looks right and feels right

leaving it safe in the hanger for now, and leaving me making some long drives
TomCochrane

Trad climber
Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay
Dec 21, 2012 - 02:33am PT
i've had helicopters stick me up into the mountains on searches in weather when i was quite happy to get out of the bird
neebee

Social climber
calif/texas
Dec 21, 2012 - 06:26am PT
hey there say, ron, and vegasclimber...

wow, as to this:

The problem is, especially when you are in the mountains, things like ridges and hills can cause you to drop off the radar before you actually hit the ground. While in a lot of cases the impact site is usually fairly close to the area they lost sight of you, there are a lot of variables like glide ratio and stuff that can affect where the plane actually

thans for sharing ... and for all that other info, too...

helps me learn...

i do know they break up awful bad, :(
have seen some sad pics... :(


i remember there was a girl in highschool, whose sister
peggy beckland (think it was) went down in someones plane...

not sure who survived, but they were so thankful that when the plane
was found, that she LIVED through it... was a hard time, 'til it was found...

i had always wondered if anyone even knew where it went down, at all, or not... (as to my questions above, etc)...

course, i know about the forest, snow, and all that, i just
really needed all this radar info stuff...

thanks again, ron and vegasclimber...
:)
ß Î Ø T Ç H

Boulder climber
bouldering
Dec 22, 2012 - 03:34am PT
The idea of it actually crashing near North Dome, and somebody being able to crawl down to the Valley would be classic.
Stephen McCabe

Trad climber
near Santa Cruz, CA
Dec 22, 2012 - 05:08am PT
Here's an article about a plane crash with a survivor from a long while back.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Emotional-trek-to-Sierra-crash-site-for-man-who-3300635.php#page-5
jopay

climber
so.il
Dec 22, 2012 - 07:03am PT
The one I am working on right now is finding the crash site of Dean Martin Jr. Even with all the military crash records and some photos, I still don't have a good enough location to actually launch on it.
Does that mean he was never found? I remember when that happened, he had been in a film featuring tennis, I thought he would have a film career.
go-B

climber
Hebrews 1:3
Dec 22, 2012 - 09:20am PT
Up in smoke?
SalNichols

Big Wall climber
Richmond, CA
Dec 22, 2012 - 09:25am PT
CFIT in bad wx.
Adamame

climber
Santa Cruz
Dec 22, 2012 - 10:33am PT
The idea of it actually crashing near North Dome, and somebody being able to crawl down to the Valley would be classic.

Hopefully they know the way down The NDG.
Vegasclimber

Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
Dec 22, 2012 - 12:24pm PT
No, he was recovered, along with his WSO. The site has not been visited much since, and not by anyone in the established wreck chasing community.

The problem is that right now I have three possible locations, all of which are in really bad terrain. Plus I still have to get permission from the Indian tribe that owns that part of the mountain.

I figure late next spring I will give it a go. Crag, if you want to add any intel for me privately it would be appreciated.

Back to topic, I'm thinking the search is done with this storm. Not much sense going back out afterwards with the snow pack unfortunately.
jewedlaw

Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
Jan 2, 2013 - 03:21pm PT
Was this ever resolved? Did they find the plane?
Seamstress

Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
Jan 2, 2013 - 04:33pm PT
We just found a plane that went down in the late 70's - deep in the forest - while looking for lost mushroom pickers.
John Duffield

Mountain climber
New York
Jan 2, 2013 - 05:39pm PT
Planes are usually kinda small. Sometimes, you have to be right on top of them.

TGT

Social climber
So Cal
Jan 2, 2013 - 06:01pm PT
I wonder how often this happens? A party randomly finds a wreck or lost hiker that others spent countless hours purposely searching for?

If you include car wrecks and dumped bodies that happens several times a year in the San Gabriels.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Jan 2, 2013 - 06:13pm PT
Klimmer knows where there is a wrecked alien spacecraft on the moon!
Dropline

Mountain climber
Somewhere Up There
Jan 2, 2013 - 06:22pm PT
Reilly wrote:
More interestingly the latest design only activates 81-83% of the time!

Interesting number. Do you have a source? I'm not questioning the veracity of the statement but I'd like to read about it. I carry two 406 MHz gps enabled EPIRBs when offshore on the boat these days.
SalNichols

Big Wall climber
Richmond, CA
Jan 2, 2013 - 06:57pm PT
Do you test it monthly? Make sure that you replace that $300.00 battery on schedule, and you test it regularly, you're good to go.

Dropline

Mountain climber
Somewhere Up There
Jan 2, 2013 - 07:07pm PT
The batteries are replaced by the manufacturer according to schedule. What protocol calls for testing the beacons monthly? None that I know of.
Vegasclimber

Trad climber
Las Vegas, NV.
Jan 2, 2013 - 07:11pm PT
Do you test it monthly? Make sure that you replace that $300.00 battery on schedule, and you test it regularly, you're good to go

Umm, sure. IF it survives the crash at all. The last ones I saw were made of plastic, and slamming into the rock at 300+ MPH has a tendency to overwhelm the structural integrity of said plastic. I've seen the cases crack from being dropped off a bench onto concrete for that matter.

Like they said upthread, they are well known for going off in a hard landing, but they rarely activate in crashes. And when they do, they are damned hard to triangulate, especially in the mountains.
Dropline

Mountain climber
Somewhere Up There
Jan 2, 2013 - 07:21pm PT
Which is why I am interested in Reilly's source. I'd like to learn about the modality of failure. Boats are very different than planes, obviously.
Messages 41 - 60 of total 63 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
Return to Forum List
 
Our Guidebooks
spacerCheck 'em out!
SuperTopo Guidebooks

guidebook icon
Try a free sample topo!

 
SuperTopo on the Web

Recent Route Beta