Port Angeles – Medford – Elizabeth City

On February 11, 1947 at 02:30 PM, Port Angeles – Medford – Elizabeth City experienced a crash involving Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina, operated by United States Coast Guard - USCG, with the event recorded near Mt Richter Oregon.

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

6 people were known to be on board, 4 fatalities were recorded, 2 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 66.7%.

Crew on board: 4, crew fatalities: 4, passengers on board: 2, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The crew left Port Angeles in the morning on a flight to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, with a first intermediate stop scheduled in Medford, Oregon. The purpose of the flight was to convoy the seaplane for maintenance in Elizabeth City. After four hours into the flight, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. While flying at a height of some 5,000 feet, the left wing hit a peak and was sheared off. The aircraft crashed and burst into flames on the slope of Mt Richter, at the altitude of 4,200 feet. Both passengers were rescued while four crew members were killed. Crew: Lt Ralph E. Osterberg, pilot, Lt John W. MacIntosh Jr., copilot, Mate Roy Mason, mechanic, AC1 Ruffin E. Crosby, radio operator. Passengers: Mr. Creasy, Mr. Savage. Source: http://www.check-six.com/Coast_Guard/PBY_Mountain_Crash.htm

Aircraft reference details include registration 48328, MSN 1690, year of manufacture 1944.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 45.2516°, -122.4314°.