McChord - Edwards

On January 16, 1941 at 12:00 PM, McChord - Edwards experienced a crash involving Douglas B-18 Bolo, operated by United States Army Air Corps - USAAC, with the event recorded near Morton Washington.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

7 people were known to be on board, 7 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 6, passengers on board: 1, passenger fatalities: 1, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The twin engine aircraft was on its way from McChord AFB, Washington, to Edwards AFB, California, to take part to a training exercise at the Muroc Dry Lake. While cruising some 30 miles south of his departure point, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low visibility due to clouds. The aircraft hit the slope of Mt Deschutes (4,322 feet high) located in the Snoqualmie National Forrest. The wreckage and seven dead bodies were found by two woodsmen on February 3, less than 30 feet from the summit. Crew: 1st Lt Robert M. Krummes, pilot, 2nd Lt Charles Thomas Nielsen, copilot, T/S Hearn A. Davis, flight engineer, 2nd Lt John F. Geis, navigator, Sgt Paul L. Maas, bombardier, Sgt Leo H. Nietling, radio operator. Passenger: 1st Lt Lewis E. MacKay. Source and photos: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9923

Aircraft reference details include registration 37-523, MSN 2523, year of manufacture 1937.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 46.5571°, -122.2752°.