On November 20th, 1951, four Navy F9F-2 Panther jets
from Squadron VF-191 took off from Moffett Field on a routine
training flight to practice formation flying and in-flight
rendezvous. One never
made it back. Shortly
after takeoff, the Number 4 plane in the formation inexplicably
throttled forward and passed under the nose of his leader,
colliding his tail with the nose of the Number 3 plane. Nothing was heard from Number 4
again as it made a right spiral toward the hills east of Milpitas,
CA. USN Ensign Gene
Oliver Safford never bailed out. The plane, Bureau Number
127208, plunged straight down and buried itself 20 feet into the
soft dirt of the hillside. The Number 3 plane limped back to
Moffett Field and landed without further incident.
This cache is presented as an introduction to another interesting
hobby that frequently uses GPS and other resources to make a
“find” -- WRECKCHASING. There are many historic aircraft
crashsites in the Bay Area, many of which await re-discovery after
the initial crash investigation was completed years
ago. One of the best
resources to learn about Wreckchashing is Craig Fuller’s
AVIATION ARCHEOLOGY INVESTIGATION and RESEARCH (AAIR) site
at: http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/
.
For more information on this specific
crashsite, I posted some more pictures and Accident Report
information at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xb70man/sets/72157601920596947/&.src=ph
Start your hike near Sandy Wool Lake in Ed Levin Park east
of Milpitas, CA., N37°27.447’ W121°51.803’. There is a $5 Park entrance
fee. Hike up Agua
Caliente Trail / Monument Trail toward the site. The crashsite and large ammo-box
cache are a hundred yards off the trail towards the Bay near a
small creek. The creek
is slowly uncovering the plane, which was bulldozed over and never
removed. You will find
many small aluminum pieces of the plane. PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE ANY
PORTIONS OF THE WRECK. The Navy NEVER relinquishes title
to a wreck – ship, plane or otherwise. The wreckage is still owned by
the Navy!
This site was rediscovered several years ago by renowned
Wreckchaser Jim Rowan. Without his expertise, this site
may have well remained forgotten. As you stand at this crashsite,
imagine that day over a half-century ago when a brave young pilot
came screaming out of the sky and lost his life preparing for the
Korean War. He never
made it into battle, but he paid the ultimate price
nonetheless.