David L McCurry

Aircraft Wrecks of the Pacific Northwest David L McCurry

This second volume reports the findings of aviation wreckologists to examine the crash sites of military and civilian aircraft in the Pacific Northwest. There are 36 chapters, each covering an aircraft crash, the search and rescue efforts of each, what happened to the pilots and crews, and present day examination of the sites and remains of the aircraft. Aircraft wreck hunting better known as "Wreckchasing" among its thousands of new enthusiasts is a budding hobby throughout the entire United States and many European countries today. There has always been a strong interest in aviation but the intrigue with old historical aircraft is bringing that interest to the deserts and mountains in search of the remains of rare old aircraft that are seldom seen anymore. Some efforts have been made in the past to recover and restore some of these rare old aircraft wrecks for museums and back to flying status, but new efforts are being made to declare these as historical artifacts and preserve the remains on site. Wreckchasing groups have been formed throughout every geographical area within the United States as well as groups of trained aviation archaeologists banding together in an effort to preserve that part of our history and hopefully generate public interest to protect these old sites. Many of our best friends have been made through wreck hunting but most importantly, bringing some type of closure to surviving family members of those lost in some of these tragic accidents makes our wreck hunting efforts absolutely worthwhile. What is sometimes a fun adventure can other times be a long grueling hardship of spending weeks climbing high snow covered mountains and hiking miles of hot desert country in searches that turn up nothing. Other times with good luck and especially good planning, the efforts can be very rewarding noting that seldom though are any of these wreck hunts ever very easy which is why the wrecks are still there. It is a blessing that these kinds of accidents are rare anymore and for most of us involved in wreckchasing groups, it is important that we keep this part of our aviation history alive and respect those whom gave their lives testing and learning from early aviation technology so that today, we may live in a safe flying world! 491 photos, most in color. A Merriam Press Aviation History.