September 3, 1929: Transcontinental Air Transport (T.A.T.) Ford 5-AT-B Tri-Motor (NC9649) Mt. Taylor, NM
On the morning of Tuesday September 3, 1929, a Ford Tri-Motor departed Albuquerque's main passenger air field en route to Los Angeles, California. On board were five passengers, two pilots, and a courier. For pioneering airline Transcontinental Air Transport (T.A.T.) today's flight would be considered routine having a few months prior inaugurated 48 hour coast-to-coast service from New York to Los Angeles. The service was unique in that traveling passengers would take trains operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad and Santa Fe Railroad to travel at night by Pullman car and then board one of T.A.T.'s Ford Tri-Motor aircraft during the day to continue their trip.
Air travel at the time was a new concept for many and well known aviation pioneers such as Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart were hired as paid consultants to build public confidence and acceptance. Lindbergh himself having flown and approving the transcontinental routes that T.A.T. would fly. This was the beginning of passenger airline travel.
The weather west of Albuquerque was dark with thunder clouds and rain as the flight made it's way toward Winslow, Arizona. The Ford 5-AT-B Tri-Motor (NC9649) named by the airline; "City of San Francisco" and was delivered to T.A.T. less than one year prior. The T.A.T. flight crew consisted of Captain J.B. Stowe and Co-Pilot E.A. Dietel. T.A.T. Courier C.F. Canfield attended to the five passengers.
With just over 45 minutes passed into the stormy flight, the "City of San Francisco" had diverted north of course and into mountainous terrain of Mt. Taylor near Grants, New Mexico. Whether it was low visibility, strong downdrafts or a fatal combination of both, the answers to what really happened to the flight has been lost to the passage of nearly eighty years. What we do know is that the "City of San Francisco" along with it's compliment of passengers and crew came to a violent end on the tree covered slopes of Mt. Taylor. For T.A.T. officials and the rest of the world, the flight had simply vanished without a trace.
Searchers, many of them local volunteers spent long hours in the air and on foot looking for the lost aircraft. It would be nearly four days before the wreckage of T.A.T. Flight A19 was discovered. This accident is considered to be one of the first commercial airline disasters and at the time it was believed that this accident would end passenger air travel.
***********************************************************************************************************************************
HISTORICAL SUMMARY:
Researching and visiting this accident site was a great opportunity. In late 2008, I was notified that the United States Forest Service (USFS) in New Mexico was seeking volunteers to help document a few historical aircraft accident sites near Grants. One of which was the crash site of the "City of San Francisco". The work involved was part of the USFS's "Passports in Time" (PIT) program. I couldn't resist and had to sign up.
I was drawn to this particular crash site by the amazing story and the time period that the accident occurred. At nearly 80 years old, this was earliest crash site that I ever had the opportunity to visit and document. What also made this accident intriguing to me was that the aircraft involved was the same exact model that I currently fly for the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Valle, Arizona.
During June 2009, we began survey and excavation work on the site. Along with project leader and archaeologist Linda Popelish of the USFS, were several people from the aviation archaeology community. Both groups worked very well with one another as ideas and field techniques were shared. Thank you for viewing the following story and photos.
On July 7, 1929 Transcontinental Air Transport (T.A.T.) in conjunction with the Pennsylvania and Santa Fe Railroads, inaugurated coast-to-coast overnight air/rail service between New York City and Los Angeles/San Francisco. (Photo courtesy of Steve Owen)
The "City of San Francisco" (NC9649), seen during a fueling stop in Winslow, Arizona in June of 1929.
The Ford 5-AT-B Tri-Motor was built during 1928 and was the 19th Ford Tri-Motor delivered to Transcontinental Air Transport.
In the morning, motor coaches would deliver the air/rail passengers to the airport where they would board one of T.A.T.'s Ford Tri-Motor aircraft.
During the day, passengers would travel by air nearly 800 miles. The evenings would be spent traveling by railway Pullman cars.
In this photo, passengers are seen leaving the T.A.T. Motor Coach and boarding the "City of San Francisco".
Lacking the safety devices of today's aircraft such as weather radar and terrain avoidance systems, the pilots of T.A.T. Flight A19 relied on obscured visual landmarks as they maneuvered their craft around the thunderstorms and heavy rain showers.
The deviations brought the Tri-Motor closer to the terrain of Mt. Taylor near Grants, New Mexico.
Captain Jesse B. Stowe, age 29, was one of 34 veteran T.A.T. pilots selected for the new transcontinental service. Each captain was required to have at least 3,000 hours of flight time with at least 500 hours of experience in the Ford Tri-Motor aircraft.
With Army flight training and several years experience, Captain Stowe was considered to be one of T.A.T.'s best pilots.
Amasa B. McGaffey was a well-known, highly-respected citizen of New Mexico. He was, in fact, the founder of the small community of McGaffey, 16 miles southeast of Gallup.
A.B. McGaffey was a sportsman as well as a businessman. For years, McGaffey and several of his friends had met each fall to hunt wild game in locations as distant as Alaska. In 1929, their plan was to hunt game in northern California.
Although McGaffey had previously traveled to his hunting destinations by car and train, in 1929 one of his three sons had convinced him to try modern plane travel for the first time in his life.
Residents of Gallup and western Valencia County were particularly anxious about the flight and its fate because the five passengers aboard the City of San Francisco included the highly respected A.B. McGaffey.
McGaffey had founded a successful lumber company in western Valencia County in 1910. Based in a small settlement in the Zuni Mountains, the company's sawmill employed an ethnic mixture of European immigrants, Hispanic residents and Navajo Indians.
With no witnesses and cause unknown, T.A.T. Flight A19 impacted the pine tree covered slopes of Mt. Taylor.
Hours would pass along with frantic radio calls from the Winslow and Albuquerque T.A.T. stations with no response.
The missing airliner set the stage for the largest search and rescue mission in the southwest for the time.
As with newspaper headlines today, a story of an airplane crash always captures the front page. The crash of the "City of San Francisco" made the public question the safety of early air travel.
This photo was taken shortly after searchers discovered the wreckage of the "City of San Francisco" The plane was torn apart as it passed through the pine trees. (J.R. Willis Photo)
Pine trees up to 18" in diameter fell when the Tri-Motor descended through the forest and broke apart. (J.R. Willis Photo)
The rudder control surface of the "City of San Francisco" bearing it's CAA registration number. (J.R. Willis Photo)
The lower surface of the left wing lies at the base of a large pine tree. (J.R. Willis Photo)
A local post crash fire consumed a portion of the fuselage. In this photo are the remnants of the wing main spar support. (J.R. Willis Photo)
Another main wheel and tire assembly or the same wheel/tire as the previous photo. (J.R. Willis Photo)
A crushed engine pylon and cowl panel (minus the engine) was either from the #1 or #3 wing position and appears to be close to the main fuselage location. (J.R. Willis Photo)
Most likely this Wright Wasp Engine is either from the #1 or #3 position since the wing sections were taking most of the impacts from the trees.
Notice the three cylinders sheared from the engine crankcase due to the impact. (J.R. Willis Photo)
THE 2009 "PASSPORTS IN TIME" TEAM:
In June of 2009, the USFS assembled a group of volunteers from both the conventional and aviation archaeology communities to survey, excavate, and document the 1929 crash site of T.A.T. Flight A19.
Pictured in the back row from left to right are: Dan Deloria, Linda Popelish (USFS), Cristin Embree (USFS), Brian Richardson, Bob Rushforth, Cliff Nikall (USFS), Mike McComb, and Matt Wehling. Pictured front row from left to right are: Steve Owen, Dick Cochran, Craig Fuller, and Erin Brown (USFS).
PIT Project leader Linda Popelish explains to the team the goals of the survey, mapping, and excavation work to be conducted at the site.
Dan Deloria, Craig Fuller, Mike McComb, and Brian Richardson discuss the accident involving NC9649 on Day 1 of the project.
Dick Cochran and Matt Wehling use a model of a Ford Tri-Motor aircraft to try and determine the possible flight path taken by the accident aircraft.
FIELD SURVEY / MAPPING WORK:
Color coded flags were used to mark wreckage as it was located in the debris field. These locations would be used later to map the crash site.
This mapping technique is not only used in conventional archaelogy, but also during major aircraft accident investigations.
Steve Owen and Dick Cochran clear branches and vegetation to uncover wreckage hidden by years of forest growth. In some cases, a metal detector was used to locate aircraft fragments.
Cristin Embree and Craig Fuller compare compass readings during the survey and mapping process.
The Forest Service brought in their field mapping guys Doug Williams and Randy Horn along with a Trimble GPS Total Station.
A total station is an electronic/optical instrument used in modern surveying. The equipment is also used by archaeologists to record excavations.
This GPS mapping equipment looked a little out of place in the primitive forest we were working in, but it provided map accuracies less than a 1/2" for the survey.
HISTORICAL PHOTO COMPARISON STUDY:
Matt Wehling, Steve Owen, and Dick Cochran examine copies of the original 1929 J.R. Willis accident site photos as they attempt to compare them with current features and landmarks.
During the survey we were able to match many of the photographs taken during 1929 with the surrounding terrain.
In this photo, Erin Brown of the USFS uses an old photo of the crash site to match the current location.
THEN and NOW
1929 - This photograph taken shortly after the accident depicts the main fuselage location. A localized post crash fire consumed most of the passenger cabin. (J.R. Willis Photo)
2009 - The same location with very little change during the past eight decades. The small tree is new and has grown in the foreground. However, the large reddish colored pine in the background still stands after many years.
1929 - This photo depicts the wing spar support as it rests on a pile of burned cabin debris. (J.R. Willis Photo)
2009 - The color coded flags represent a number of artifacts located on the surface. A large amount of burned aircraft components and structure was located in this area.
1929 - This photograph was very dificult to match with the current photo due to logging activity that was present in the area during and after the accident. (J.R. Willis Photo)
2009 - The same location, but with rocks and boulders that have been moved and displaced over the years.
Craig Fuller, Bob Rushforth, and Cristin Embree set up a datum line just prior to the mapping process.
ARTIFACTS:
A number of bottle and glass container fragments were recovered that dated to the late 1920's.
This broken bottle base is from a bottle of Vitalis Hair Tonic that was carried in the luggage of a passenger.
These three fragments of Bauscher Bavarian China were recovered at the site by a previous project team. The china was used by T.A.T. to serve meals to passengers.
Dated 1928, this serviceware was provided to T.A.T. by the Fred Harvey Company who also provided the same serviceware to the railroads.
An example of the Bauscher Bavarian China logo stamp.
These fragments of Bauscher China dish and bowl serviceware were located at the main impact site.
This larger fragment of china was most likely from a small dish or plate.
