Sept. 22, 1999
Air Force experts have begun trying to recover wreckage from an unusual aviation tragedy that took place just outside Salt Lake City during World War II.
Although the incident in the Oquirrh Mountains has been largely forgotten, the crash-site is actually within view of Interstate-80 at Saltair.
News Specialist John Hollenhorst hiked in with the Air Force and has the exclusive story.
The journey to the crash site begins by vehicle, past giant television transmitters,
and up a rugged jeep road along the crest of the Oquirrh Mountains.
Then it's a hike along a ridge at 10,000 feet, and down a steep slope toward the Kennecott Smelter and the Great Salt Lake.
This is Black Rock Canyon, a box canyon that became a death trap for Marines on a training mission that started in California during World War II.
MASTER SGT. LARRY HANSEN/419TH COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT SQUADRON: "IT ENDED RIGHT HERE ON THE HILL."
A propellor juts from the ground like a tombstone. There's not much left for the Air Force crew to salvage. As they work, there's a feeling of reverence for those who died so long ago.
TECH SGT. STEVE MCNALLY/419TH COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT SQUADRON: "IT'S KIND OF A SENSE OF KINSHIP. WE'RE CARRYING ON WHERE THEY HAVE LEFT OFF."
MASTER SGT. LARRY HANSEN/419TH COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT SQUADRON: "OH, YEAH, YOU CAN THINK BACK ON ALL THE REST OF THEM THAT LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR EFFORT."
In September 1944, 3 Marine dive bombers flew past Kennecott, reportedly in an aerial salute to smelter workers for their contribution to the war effort. The three bombers disappeared into a rain cloud. Only one made it back out.
TECH SGT. STEVE MCNALLY/419TH COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT SQUADRON: "THE FIRST AIRCRAFT IN A LOWER ALTITUDE CLIPPED THE RIDGE DOWN THERE AND IMPACTED INTO THE CANYON. THE SECOND AIRCRAFT WAS ABOVE HIM AND HE IMPACTED HERE. AND THE THIRD AIRCRAFT WAS HIGHER ALTITUDE AND HE CLEARED IT ON OVER. "
JOHN HOLLENHORST REPORTING: "THE MOUNTAIN TOOK AWAY THE LIVES OF 4 MARINE AVIATORS. AND AFTER 55 WINTERS AND 55 SPRINGS, THE MOUNTAIN SEEMED RELUCTANT TO GIVE BACK THE AIRCRAFT. "
They're trying to recover crumpled parts for the Air Force Museum in Ohio.
Both crashed planes are extremely rare A-25 Shrikes. The museum is collecting pieces from several crashed planes to combine with remanufactured parts.
TECH SGT. STEVE MCNALLY/419TH COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT SQUADRON: "AND USING SHEET-METAL AND WHATNOT, AND ACTUALLY RECREATE THE AIRCRAFT."
Vegetation and dirt holds the wreckage as if it's bolted onto the steep slope.
The cockpit where two men sat is recognizeable but it's fused into the mountain.
MASTER SGT. LARRY HANSEN/419TH COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT SQUADRON: "IT PROBABLY WENT IN, STRAIGHT IN FULL SPEED. LOOKS LIKE HE PROBABLY BURIED PRETTY DEEP. "
This is all hand labor. The slope is so steep and isolated, they can't bring in heavy equipment. After hours of work, only one sizeable part came loose, a wing flap.
TECH SGT. STEVE MCNALLY/419TH COMBAT LOGISTICS SUPPORT SQUADRON: "IT'S TURNED INTO A LITTLE MORE OF AN ORDEAL THAN WE'D REALLY PLANNED FOR. "
The Air Force plans to return in October with better tools to pry a piece of history off the mountain.
