PENINSULA DEATH TOLL NOW 12 IN TAHOE AIR CRASH.

Six more Peninsula residents have been identified as victims of the Lake Tahoe air crash.
The six bring to 12 the number of Peninsula residents who died when a Paradise Airlines Constellation smashed into a Sierra peak Sunday while approaching Tahoe Valley Airport on a "fun flight" from San Jose. Eighty-five persons were aboard. All died.
Workers began the grim task today of recovering and identifying the victims. A bulldozer cleared a path to the site. Relatives and friends of the victims have thronged into the tiny town of Minden, Nevada, and are being cared for by the 550 residents.
New List.
Now listed among the victims are:
MR. and MRS. STANLEY BUONCRISTIANI, 169 Santa Cruz Avenue, Daly City. (MRS. BUONCRISTIANI'S sister, MRS. ALICE THOMAS, of San Jose, was also on the plane).
The BUONCRISTIANIS were the parents of LISA, 9 months, and LINDA, 12, a student at Upper Colma School, Daly City. The children had been left with relatives in San Jose.
MR. and MRS. PAUL REIF, 7 Gertrude Court, East Palo Alto.
MR. and MRS. DON WILSON, 265 North Rengstorff Avenue, Mountain View.
Former Carlan.
WILSON, 29, a native of Auburn, manager of the All American supermarket in Palo Alto, formerly lived at 13 Camborne Avenue, San Carlos. He was divorced three years ago and remarried. He leaves three children -- DON, 11, KEITH, 9, and CARY, 4 -- by his first wife, now MRS. WARREN HERTING, of 2700 Coronet Bouleveard, Belmont. The children lived with their mother.
The wreckage of the four-engined plane is scattered near the top of an 8,700-foot Sierra Nevada ridge, partially covered by a mantle of snow. The nearest settlement if Minden, a Basque-German town six miles east of the crash site and seven miles south of Carson City.
Residents of the town have opened their kitchens and doors to relatives of the dead who hurried to the site.
The fire station became an information center; the Carson Valley Improvement Club became a morgue and Douglas County courthouse became headquarters for recovery posses.
While the bodies were carried out, Federal Aviation Agency and Civil Aeronautics Board investigators were to examine the crash scene in an attempt to learn why the plane crashed.
GEORGE COSTA, who hiked to the wreckage scene Monday with a companion, said he found one body with just the head exposed and nearby a white, plastic card bearing the name "HANK NORRIS." That was the pilot's name.
"We walked along the length of the plane to the tail," COSTA said.
"There was a piece of the fuselage -- it looked like the front part of the cabin -- with a window and a hand hanging from it."
Charts.
A chart system, delineating sections for search for bodies, was drawn. Sheriff's officers, the coroner, FBI agents and investigators of the Civil Aeronautics Board met to study it.
Afterward a 25 member ground party planned to head up the bulldozed trail to the wreckage strewn peak to begin the grim task.
Because of the deep snows, complete recovery may not be possible.
"In the spring, when the snow has melted, we will go over the scene again to see if we've missed anything," said Sheriff GEORGE BYERS.
The victims were headed for a day at Nevada gambling casinos when the plane was caught in a blinding snowstorm.
Pilot HENRY NORRIS, 43, took his plane to the north end of the 6,228 foot high lake for a routine approach to Lake Tahoe Airport.
He radioed at 11:29 a.m. Sunday that he had spotted the lake through a break in the storm and was over the last approach marker to the airport. Two minutes later he began a message, "Flight 901 ---" Nothing more was heard.
Hampered.
Air and ground searchers, hampered Sunday by the snowstorm did not find the plane until 7:30 a.m. Monday -- when it was spotted on a ridge near the south end and several miles east of the lake.
Authorities speculated that at the last minute NORRIS changed his flight plan and headed for Reno or Carson City.
The biggest piece of wreckage was the tail section. Most of the other pieces were so small they were hard to distinguish from tree stumps and rocks.
Helicopter pilot LEROY W. MARX, who spotted the wreckage said: "If he (NORRIS) had been 25 to 30 feet higher he would have cleared the peak."
Earlier Victims.
Previously listed victims from the Peninsula were TONY DEVINE, 22, son of MR. and MRS. CLYDE DEVINE, 2230 Eaton Avenue, San Carlos; KAREN GASSENBERG, 21, daughter of MR. and MRS. WILLIAM J. GASSENBERG, 967 Chula Vista Avenue, Burlingame; DIANE HANSEN, 21, daughter of MR. and MRS. JENS M. HANSEN, 113 Channing Road, Burlingame; DONALD WATSON, 29, 810 Baden Street, South San Francisco, co-pilot; MR. and MRS. CLARKE M. LUMPE, 736 Coastland Avenue, Palo Alto.
The following revised passenger list was issued today:
HARVEY KERNODE, 49, 60 Roberts Rd., Los Galos.
FRANK GIMALDL, 35, 450 Joseta St., San Jose.
MRS. ARNE MAE SWEET, 1847 Heart Dr., San Jose.
MRS. LEOLA SEYLER, 53, 3819 Underwood Dr., San Jose.
MRS. ARN FURTADO, 37, 1185 Inverness Ave., Santa Clara.
ARMANDO NARVONE, about 45, 585 Hoover Ave., San Jose.
ERNEST NARDONE, 3242 McKinley Dr., San Jose.
LEONARD CAPITOLA, 32, 929 Carson Dr., Sunnyvale.
MRS. BEVERLY CAPITOLA, wife of LEONARD.
JACK J. ROBERTS, 1207 Willomar Dr., San Jose.
MRS. JACK J. ROBERTS, 1207 Willomar Dr., San Jose.
MR. and MRS. ROGER BROWN, 1435 Palmwood Dr., San Jose.
MRS. MARY SULLIVAN, 29, 343 Frederick St., Santa Cruz.
ANTHONY C. TOLEDO, 36, 2361 Arguello Pl., Santa Clara.
REGIS H. FOSS, 47, 1501 Hillsdale Ave., San Jose.
REGIS (TIM) FOSS, 21, 1501 Hillsdale Ave., San Jose.
DIANE HANSEN, 21, San Jose State student, 408 S. 5th St., San Jose. (From Burlingame).
KAREN GASSENBERG, 21, San Jose State student, 408 S. 5th St., San Jose. (From Burlingame).
FRANK TOLLNER, 39, 1591 Willowdale Dr., San Jose.
WILLIAM R. CARLETON, 340 Grant St., Santa Clara.
MISS JERRY R. DeLEON, 340 Grant St., Santa Clara.
MR. and MRS. STANLEY BUONCRISTIANI, 169 Santa Cruz Ave., Daly City.
MRS. DANTE BACIGALUPI, San Francisco.
MRS. ALICE THOMAS, 42, MRS. BUONCHISTIANI'S sister, 1553 Shaw Dr., San Jose.
MRS. BERTHA MILES, 82, 364 S. 22nd St., San Jose.
MR. and MRS. JOHN MARTIN, 364 S. 22nd St., San Jose.
MR. and MRS. ALLEN MARTY, 3590 Haig St., Santa Clara.
TONY DEVINE, 22, San Jose State student and son of swim coach CLYDE DEVINE, 342 South 11th St., San Jose. (From San Carlos).
MRS. FAY SPARACINO, 1212 Old Oakland Highway, San Jose.
HARRY L. TURRA, 342 S. 11th St., San Jose.
THOMAS DIMOS, JR., 517 Sunshine Dr., Concord.
DAVID MIYIHARA, 898 Grape Ave., Sunnyvale.
MR. and MRS. W. H. LEWIS, 565 Patton Ave., San Jose.
MR. and MRS. FLOYD LEWIS, 550 Ginger Lane, San Jose.
MRS. DOROTHY AGNOLETTI, 47, 565 Patton Ave., San Jose.
MR. and MRS. DON L. BARLOW, 89 Pierce Ave., San Jose.
MRS. MARJORIE E. NIELSEN, 1775 Shamrock Dr., San Jose.
MR. and MRS. PAUL REIF, 7 Gertrude Ct., Palo Alto.
MR. and MRS. DON WILSON, 265 N. Rengstorff Ave., Mountain View.
MR. and MRS. CLARK LAMPA, Palo Alto.
JOHN HARRILI, 10 Via Piner, Monterey.
POY NG, partner in Monte Mart store, Salinas.
LES GODWIN, 126 Hillsdale Ave., Seaside.
GIN NISHIGUCHI, 856 Lily St., Monterey.
KONG TONG, 126 Evans St., Pacific Grove.
CHOW CHONG GONG, 836 Jessie St., Monterey.
MR. and MRS. LES OWYANG, 354 Williams Dr., Salinas.
MR. and MRS. JOHN R. BISCARRO, 775 Bellarmine Dr., Salinas.
MOW (DON) LIM, 149 Jackson St., Castroville.
CLARENCE (BUDDY) CORTEZ, 217 Cross St., Salinas.
FRANK HUM, Salinas.
EARL TATUM, Salinas.
MR. and MRS. BILLY E. HARVEY, 521 Green St., Salinas.
ALVIN BRASH, 1637 Madison Ave., Salinas.
RICHARD COSBY, 1346 Trazado St., Salinas.
FEDEL S. MILLI, Salinas.
BILL ROBINSON, Cupertina.
MRS. HELEN CURL, 2056 Rosswood Dr., San Jose.
MR. and MRS. HOMER HICKEY, 1679 Heatherdale Dr., San Jose.
MR. and MRS. NORMAN LAMB, Saratoga.
JOHN ARNOLD and MRS. W. ARNOLD, Pepper Tree Trailer Court, San Jose.
MARK ARNOLD and MRS. BEATRICE ARNOLD, Pleasant Grove Trailer Court, San Jose.
Other names on a partial list released by Paradise Airlines and still being checked on whether they actually boarded the flight were:
MR. and MRS. FRANK MORENO, 3449 Bonita Ave., Santa Clara.
MRS. LORRAINE BOATRIGHT, 48, Sunnyvale.

San Mateo Times California 1964-03-03
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!