1946 Antarctica PBM Mariner crash

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1946 Antarctica PBM Mariner crash
Crashed U.S. Navy PBM-5 Mariner on Thurston Island, 11 January 1947.jpg
Wreckage and survivors of the crash photographed on 11 January 1947
Accident
Date30 December 1946 - 12 January 1947
SummarySevere weather
SiteThurston Island, Antarctica
Aircraft typeMartin PBM Mariner
OperatorUnited States Navy
Registration59098
Crew9
Fatalities3
Survivors6

The 1946 Antarctica PBM Mariner crash occurred on 30 December 1946, on Thurston Island, Antarctica when a United States Navy Martin PBM-5 Mariner crashed during a blizzard.[1][2] Buno 59098 was one of 4 aircraft lost during Operation Highjump.[2]

The crash[]

The aircraft, Bureau Number 59098, callsign "George 1", hit a ridge and burned while supporting Operation Highjump.[2] The crash instantly killed Ensign Maxwell A. Lopez and Petty Officer Wendell K. Hendersin.[2] Two hours later, Petty Officer Frederick Williams also died.[2] Six surviving crewmembers, including Aviation Radioman James H. Robbins, pilot Ralph "Frenchy" LeBlanc and co-pilot William Kearns, were rescued 13 days later by an aircraft from USS Pine Island (AV-12).[2] LeBlanc was so frostbitten from the conditions that a quadruple amputation was performed on him.[1] His legs were amputated on the Philippine Sea, a ship that was part of the rescue, and his arms were amputated later in Rhode Island.[1] Hendersin, Williams, and Lopez were buried at the crash site and their remains have not been recovered.[1][2]

In 2004, during a surveying flight, a Chilean navy airplane flew over the site using ground penetrating radar to discover the exact location.[3][4] A two-expedition recovery mission was planned, but subsequently cancelled, for both November 2008 and November 2009 to recover the three fatalities of the crash from their temporary grave.[5][3] In 2012, another group announced plans to drill 100 ft (30 m) down to recover the bodies.[4] Rich Lopez, nephew of Maxwell Lopez, was part of the plan.[4] However the group struggled to raise the $1.5-3.5 million dollars they would need.[4]

See also[]

  • List of Antarctica disasters by death toll

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "Decade Ago Sarasotan Was Off For Antarctica". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 30 December 1956. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "United States aircraft losses in Antarctica". Antarctic Journal of the United States. 9: 3–4. 1974. Archived from the original on 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  3. ^ a b Tribune, STEVE CAHALAN La Crosse. "SISTERS WANT BODY RECOVERED FROM ANTARCTICA". madison.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  4. ^ a b c d "Airmen Lost in Antarctic Ice May Be Recovered". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-08-03. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  5. ^ Hoffman, Carl (July 1, 2007). "Buried at the Bottom of the World" (Magazine article). Air & Space Smithsonian. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved October 30, 2009.


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