My first foray into wreck chasing

[SaxMan]

On June 22, 1957, DC-3 (also referred to as a DC-47A) N88835 (cn 19448, formerly 42-100985), crashed just outside of Clarksburg, Maryland on what was supposed to be a routine training mission. The CAB reported that there were two pilots and instructor, and this was part of their training to upgrade them to the left seat. They were at the point in their program where they were practicing the "canyon apporach", a simulated approach to an airport through a narrow corridor. The landing would then be aborted and the pilot would have to climb out, often on one engine. Something went terribly wrong as the plane stalled, rolled over, went into a spin and ended up in a nose down position on impact. Here is the grim result:


Plane_crash_1 by onyxsax, on Flickr


Plane_crash_2 by onyxsax, on Flickr
Photos courtesy of Steve Gobeil, whose mother took these pictures on the following day. This was the biggest event to happen in this part of Montgomery County since Jubal Early came through in 1864 after the Battle of Monocacy on his abortive attempt to attack Washington DC.

All three crewmembers were killed: Carl Burke, the instructor, Robert Thomas, one of the pilots and Hank Podgurski, the other pilot. I haven't found much on Burke or Thomas yet, but Podgurski flew with the 93rd BG as a copilot on the Ploesti mission, and later flew Pathfinder B-24s in the ETO. He also was apparently involved in a stateside training crash that I don't have much info on. To think that Podgurski survived one of the deadliest missions of World War II, only to lose his life on a routine training mission. What hit home for me was that he was married and left behind two daughters, ages 11 and 9 at the time, as I, too, am the father of a 9 year old.

Last edited by SaxMan on Sun Oct 07, 2012 7:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[SaxMan]

The CAB went over the wreckage with a fine tooth comb, and parts were simply discarded once the investigation was done with. I don't know what happened with the rest of the wreckage yet, but I am still slated to interview to a few more eyewitnesses who may be able to shed some more light on this.

During the mid-90s the Capital Airlines Association found the site, and documented these pieces still in the woods. There is no reason to believe that these items still are not out there, as they are in a remote section of park, and the only way to access them easily is through private property, which would likely deter most souveneir hunters. Unfortunately, the men who took these images have all passed on. (Photos courtesy of Gary Baesel - http://www.baesel.net/cap1.htm)


N88835-4 by onyxsax, on Flickr


N88835-3 by onyxsax, on Flickr


N88835-2 by onyxsax, on Flickr


N88835-1 by onyxsax, on Flickr

[SaxMan]

During the visit in the 1990s, the Capital Airlines people took an engine crankcase and restored it. With the individuals who recovered and restored this piece having passed on, trying to find this piece has been difficult, to put it mildly.

N88835-5 by onyxsax, on Flickr

I managed to discover that the wreckage was on park property owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, of which I volunteer with their police department. Coincidentally, the Communications Supervisor knew about this crash and was instrumental in helping me nail down the exact location. I was able to take this to the park historians, who were unaware of this crash, or that it was on park land.

They have decided that any recovery needs to be led by a professional archaeologist, of which I am not, and any plans would need to be submitted as a written proposal and approved. I did, however, obtain permission to survey the site, as I argued, it would make no sense to go through the whole rigamarole if there was nothing to recover. The historians agreed and we are slated to survey the site in the next couple of weeks.

Having experience with wooded searches, I was going to to a grid search and set up a skirmish line with other volunteers. My plan is to get GPS coordinates for each artifact we find, and take pictures with a tape measure in frame to give idea of size.

Seeing that this is my first attempt at doing something like this, are their any other WIXers that can offer any additional advice? For those who in the local MD / DC / VA area and would like to join in on the site survey, please feel free to drop me a PM.

[Steve Nelson]

I don't know about the other wreckage, but that landing gear strut is definitely not from a DC-3/C-47. Could the photos be mis-labeled?

SN

[maxum96]

I don't know about the other wreckage, but that landing gear strut is definitely not from a DC-3/C-47. ?

Exactly what I thought too when I saw that picture.

[SaxMan]

I don't know about the other wreckage, but that landing gear strut is definitely not from a DC-3/C-47. Could the photos be mis-labeled?

SN

That's entirely possible. I don't know enough about the DC-3/C-47 to positively identify this piece, and it's hard to tell scale by the photo. I'm wondering if this is part of the the tailwheel strut? Looking at some DC-3 photos, it certainly looks like that's what it may be. Learning more about DC-3/C-47 airframes in general would probably be a good idea before going on site.

There's also a possibility that this piece may have nothing to do with the wreckage, as the land in this area is often peppered with various bits and pieces of discarded junk. In the "main" part of the park, there used to be the hulk of a Nash Metropolitan just off one of the trails.

[GARY HILTON]

Looks more like a main landing gear from a large twin, like a Convair or Martin.

[turretguy]

Saxman,
It looks like you have photos of a Capital DC-3 crash and photos of the Capital DC-4 crash. You'll notice that the terrain is different in the photos.

I suggest you cross-post this at http://www.wreckchasing.com. You have to register (free) to post. That also gives you access to the member list. You should look for Russ Ferris as I've seen his photos of the DC-4 wreckage and IIRC they are very similar. He's a commercial pilot and has done a lot of work on the Capital DC-4 crash. I think he wrote it up for Airliners magazine as well.

Best,
Nick

[SaxMan]

Saxman,
It looks like you have photos of a Capital DC-3 crash and photos of the Capital DC-4 crash. You'll notice that the terrain is different in the photos.

I suggest you cross-post this at http://www.wreckchasing.com. You have to register (free) to post. That also gives you access to the member list. You should look for Russ Ferris as I've seen his photos of the DC-4 wreckage and IIRC they are very similar. He's a commercial pilot and has done a lot of work on the Capital DC-4 crash. I think he wrote it up for Airliners magazine as well.

Best,
Nick

It's the same crash, just taken at different angles. The person who supplied the photos was an eyewitness. The terrain is very undulating and the plane crashed literally at the woods edge in the backyard. I will, however, take your advice and check out the website.

[maxum96]

I'm wondering if this is part of the the tailwheel strut? Looking at some DC-3 photos, it certainly looks like that's what it may be.

That's definitely not a tail wheel assembly. It appears to be a main gear from a plane with dual tire main gear.

Here's a C47/DC3 tail wheel

Last edited by maxum96 on Sun Oct 07, 2012 9:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[SaxMan]

I'm wondering if this is part of the the tailwheel strut? Looking at some DC-3 photos, it certainly looks like that's what it may be.

That's definitely not a tail wheel assembly. It appears to be a main gear from a plane with dual tire main gear.

Here's a C47/DC3 tail wheel

Or, perhaps a dual front tire for a tractor? That would me more logical than a part from a completely different airplane.

[maxum96]

Or, perhaps a dual front tire for a tractor? That would me more logical than a part from a completely different airplane.

It's a landing gear strut from an aircraft. The torque links are clearly visible. The shape of the top of the strut assembly is designed not to let it rotate as in it couldn't be a nose gear for an airplane nor would it be a steering setup for a tractor.

[SaxMan]

Or, perhaps a dual front tire for a tractor? That would me more logical than a part from a completely different airplane.

It's a landing gear strut from an aircraft. The torque links are clearly visible. The shape of the top of the strut assembly is designed not to let it rotate as in it couldn't be a nose gear for an airplane nor would it be a steering setup for a tractor.

Interesting. Thanks for the input. That opens up a whole new can of worms, namely what would a dual-tire landing gear strut be doing at a wreck site for a completely different aircraft? There are no airports nearby, nor is the any recorded incidents occurring in the general vicinity.

The only thing that makes any kind of sense is that the strut was on board the DC-3 as cargo, and then simply discarded by the CAB. It is likely that this plane was company hack or "Freight dog" by this point, as Capital was utilizing Viscounts, Constellations and DC-6s for most of their passenger service by 1957.

[maxum96]

It looks like it might be a DC-6 main gear.

[turretguy]

"It's the same crash, just taken at different angles. The person who supplied the photos was an eyewitness. The terrain is very undulating and the plane crashed literally at the woods edge in the backyard. I will, however, take your advice and check out the website.[/quote]

My bad... Your parts pictures look exactly like the same terrain as the Capital DC-4 crash and, of course, there's a house very near where the DC-4 parts came to rest. Coincidence? I just can't make sense of the two-wheel gear leg at a DC-3 crash.
Nick

Last edited by turretguy on Sun Oct 07, 2012 10:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.