December 19, 1968, Piper PA-28-140 (N1753J) near Mount Laguna, CA
The prelude to a severe winter storm was in the forecast when a flight instructor, student pilot, and an observer departed Phoenix, Arizona bound for San Diego California. The purpose of the night training flight was to prepare the instructor's student for his private pilot checkride and to re-position the rental aircraft back to it's home base in San Diego. The 34 year old Flight Instructor had 771 total flight hours, but only a mere 29 hours in the Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee aircraft.
The Flight Instructor did not request a weather briefing which called for severe turbulence with strong updrafts and downdrafts. Despite the weather and dark night, the instructor decided to file a VFR (Visual) flight plan.
As the flight progressed westerly towards San Diego, the turbulence and visibilty became increasingly worse near the mountainous Laguna Range. Fighting turbulence and spatial disorientation, it was not long before the single-engine Piper departed controlled flight (possible in-flight breakup) and impacted the snow covered slopes of Cuyapaipe Mountain fifty miles east of it's destination. All three were killed.
The next day an air search was mounted for the missing aircraft which was mostly conducted in poor weather conditions. Tragedy struck twice while in the process of the search, two members of the local Civil Air Patrol were killed when their own plane collided with nearby Tecate Peak.
The remains of the missing Piper and it's three occupants were eventually located under heavy snow December 24, 1968, Christmas Eve Day.
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HISTORICAL SUMMARY:
This wreck site was located by me in 2003 while conducting a re-position flight from Yuma to Long Beach. With substantial wreckage on the ground, I initially thought that I had located the 1946 crash site of American Airlines Flight 6-103 or that of Western Air Lines Flight 44 which also crashed in the area during the same year.
A visit to the site in November 2009 revealed that it was in fact neither DC-3, but a Piper Cherokee lost in 1968.
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of light aircraft designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use, built by Piper Aircraft.
The accident aircraft, N1753J was a 1966 model that was powered by a 150 horsepower Lycoming engine and was a fairly new airplane at the time of the accident.
While re-positioning a Beechcraft D18 to Long Beach in 2003, I noticed the wreckage of an aircraft on the eastern slope of Southern California's Cuyapaipe Mountain.
Having known of two historic DC-3 accidents that occurred in this area, I immediately thought it was one of them.
On this low pass, two pieces of wreckage were spotted on the slope. The wreckage was later determined to be the Piper Cherokee (N1753J) which crashed during December 1968.
November 9, 2009, Trey Brandt (right), myself, and Steve Owen (not pictured) begin the climb up the west slope of Cuyapaipe Mountain. (Photo courtesy of Steve Owen)
Cuyapaipe Mountain is the highest point in the Laguna Mountains of eastern San Diego County. Its slopes mainly consist of typical chaparral country with manzanita and scrub oak.
It wasn't long into the hike before my arms started to show wear and tear. Long sleeve shirts are recommended.
Fellow hikers Steve Owen and Trey Brandt take a break as we near the crest of the ridge line.
Once on the eastern slope of Cuyapaipe Mountain, we locate some wreckage amid the boulders.
Expecting to see the shattered remains of a Douglas DC-3, I was surprised to find that it was the engine cowl door from a Piper Cherokee 140.
Decades of weather and occasional area brush fires removed the red painted surface.
It was difficult to locate small pieces of wreckage due to the dense brush in the area.
Also, being in prime snake country and with warm temperatures we were constantly watching for rattlesnakes.
Trey located this fragment which turned out to be the left wing of the Piper.
The Piper's left wing was burned extensively.
Further up the slope we located the Piper's door. The Piper Cherokee 140 has only one entry door and it was located on the right side of the aircraft. (Photo courtesy of Trey Brandt)
I examined the interior side of the door and noticed that the handles were missing or had been removed.
Trey heading up to the main wreckage site of the Piper.
When we arrived at the main wreckage site, we noticed that the airplane was inverted with it's right wing still attached.
Trey examines the aircraft cabin area. (Photo courtesy of Steve Owen)
As we examined the wreckage and the site, it was becoming clear that some salvaging of parts had taken place over the past 41 years since the accident.
Missing were the pilot/passenger seats, instrument panel, engine, propeller, and landing gear components.
The aircraft engine oil cooler was among a few engine components scattered around the main impact site.
To better examine the wreckage we decided to flip the remains of the Piper over which gave us a better perspective of the damage to the plane.
One major component that was missing from the plane was the aircraft's tail section. A theory we had was that the plane was involved in a in-flight breakup scenario. Another is that it was removed from the site during a salvage operation for re-usable parts.
The classic Piper Aircraft logo is still visible.
The cockpit of the Piper showed evidence of substantial impact damage as well as fire.
Very little remained of the aircraft's interior cabin. (Photo courtesy of Trey Brandt)
I noticed this manufacturer ID placard on the right aileron flight control surface.
Close-up view of the placard.
I found a fragment of one of the two flight control yokes. Often a broken yoke in this manner is an indication that the pilot probably had his hands on the controls during impact.
Trey with the burned remains of the Piper's left wing.
An overview of the main impact site of N1753J.
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