Date & Time:
Jan 6, 1942 at 1100 LT
Type of aircraft:
Beechcraft B18S (F-2)
Operator:
Registration:
40-686
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Gray - Sacramento
MSN:
344
YOM:
1940
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
2
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The twin engine airplane departed Gray Army Airfield in Fort Lewis on a liaison flight to the Sacramento Air Depot, carrying two passengers and one pilot. While cruising at an altitude of 4,000 feet south of Medford, the pilot reported poor weather conditions with freezing rain. Shortly later, the airplane impacted the slope of a mountain located near Pilot Rock, some 15 miles southeast of Ashland. As the airplane failed to arrive at destination, SAR operations were initiated but the wreckage was finally found by a local resident 8 June 1942. All three occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was poor due to thick fog with freezing rain and snow falls.
Crew:
1st Lt Raymond A. Stockwell, pilot,
Passengers:
T/Sgt Randolph Jones,
T/Sgt Paul W. Stone.
Crew:
1st Lt Raymond A. Stockwell, pilot,
Passengers:
T/Sgt Randolph Jones,
T/Sgt Paul W. Stone.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain.
