Pendleton

During a scheduled cargo flight, the pilot diverted from the normal route and travelled through mountainous terrain. The radar plot indicated that the airplane was in a gradual climbing left turn when the collision occurred. The weather in the area at the time of the accident reported snow showers in the mountainous area. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

On a night approach to Pendleton Airport, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions and failed to realize his altitude was too low when the twin engine airplane struck the ground and crashed few miles from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was seriously injured.

The crew was returning to his base in Grand Island in order to prepare to join the European operations. En route, the crew inform ground about his position over Powder River. This was the last communication. Around 2359LT, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located in the Bighorn Mountain Range, in the north part of Wyoming. All SAR operations were suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft nor the 10 crew members was found. Two cowboys found the wreckage on August 12, 1945. The aircraft was off course at the time of the accident. After a petition by veterans groups in Wyoming, the unnamed mountain on which the aircraft crashed was christened 'Bomber Mountain' on 22 August 1946 by the U.S. Forest Service.
Crew (318th BS):
Lt William R. Ronaghan, pilot,
Lt Anthony S. Tilotta, copilot,
Lt Leonard H. Phillips, navigator,
Lt Charles H. Suppes, bombardier,
Sgt James A. Hinds, flight engineer,
Sgt Lee V. Millar, assistant to the flight engineer,
Sgt Ferguson T. Bell, radio operator,
Sgt Charles E. Newburn Jr., assistant to the radio operator,
Sgt Jake E. Penick, air gunner,
Sgt Lewis M. Shepherd, air gunner.

The airplane suffered a structural failure in flight and crashed 15 miles northeast of Pendleton. All crew members bailed out and were rescued.
Crew:
Warren L. Johnson.

The airplane departed Boise-Gowen Field on a liaison flight to Pendleton, Oregon. While cruising at night in marginal weather conditions, the airplane deviated from the prescribed route and impacted the slope of a mountain located in the Blue Mountain Range, some 20 miles southeast of the destination airport. The airplane disintegrated on impact and all 10 crew members were killed. It appears that the airplane caroming from the peak to another more than a mile away and the wreckage then strewn over a small valley.
Crew:
2nd Lt Lawler C. Neighbors, pilot,
2nd Lt John L. Bailey, copilot,
2nd Lt Glen R. Metsker Jr., copilot,
Sgt Weldon G. Wilson, flight engineer,
Cpl James T. Mitchler, radio operator,
Sgt Frank D. Gillis, gunner,
Sgt Charles C. Parsons, gunner,
Sgt Raymond J. Paveglio, gunner,
Cpl George R. Hall, gunner,
Cpl Frank H. Spooner Jr., gunner.

The crew was performing a flight from McClellan (Sacramento) to Alaska with an intermediate stop in Pendleton, Oregon. En route, weather conditions deteriorated and the visibility was poor due to snow falls. The twin engine airplane impacted the slope of Mt Wolf located in the Ochoco National Forest, central east Oregon. SAR operations were initiated but eventually suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft was found. The wreckage was eventually found on 13 August 1942 about 60 miles east of Prineville. All four crew members were killed.
Crew (36th Squadron):
2nd Lt Richard J. Heiderstadt, pilot,
2nd LT Walter V. McShane, copilot,
T/Sgt Michael R. Bittner, flight engineer,
S/Sgt Donald R. Kirtland, radio operator.

After takeoff from Pendleton Airport, while climbing, the pilot lost control of the airplane that crashed 4 km north of the airfield. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
2nd Lt Andrew J. Francisco,
Sgt Donald Clark,
Pvt Lovis Fagan,
2nd Lt Leroy E. Grindle,
Cpl Vernon A. Learman,
2nd Lt Ruel Carter Shows,
S/Sgt Allen D. Spiers,
Pvt George Vrable.