Charleston Peak, NV Air Force Transport Crashes, Nov 1955

14 BELIEVED DEAD IN NEVADA CRASH.

Las Vegas, Nev. (AP) -- An Air Force transport with 14 persons aboard crashed high in the Sawtooth Charleston Mountains while en route to the Nevada atomic bombing range Thursday.
An arctic rescue team from March Air Force Base, braving subzero temperatures, climbed on foot through the snow early Friday in an attempt to reach the wreckage at about the 9,000-foot elevation.
Air Force spokesmen said there was little chance that any of the passengers survived the crash.
At dawn a March AFB two-engine amphibian rescue plane was due to take off from nearby Nellis AFB for the site to drop a paramedic if the precipitous terrain and weather permitted.
The rugged range in the high plateau country was shrouded in clouds and whipped by high winds and intermittent snow.
The wreckage sighted by search planes through a rift in the clouds Thursday, lay on a high slope next to 11,910-foot Mt. Charleston, 27 miles northwest of here.
The aircraft took off Thursday from Burbank, Calif.
Air Force headquarters in Washington said the aircraft, blieved to be a C54, carried AF personnel and "some civilian consultants." The AF described the mission as "routine."
An AEC spokesman in Albuquerque, N. M., said the AEC had no embargo on information about the crash and had no special interest in it, indicating that no atomic scientists were aboard.

The Greeley Daily Tribune Colorado 1955-11-18

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14 BELIEVED DEAD IN NEVADA CRASH.

Las Vegas, Nev. (AP) -- A reconnaissance pilot reported Friday "no sign of life" on a snowy mountain peak where an Air Force transport plane with 14 persons aboard crashed Thursday enroute to the Nevada atomic bombing range.
Maj. J. E. Manch, operations officer at Nellis Air Force Base, flew over Charleston Peak as clouds lifted Friday morning. He reported wreckage at about the 9,000-foot level. Had the four-engine C54 been 300 feet higher it would have topped a ridge and been in the clear.
Manch said it appeared the transport pilot had seen the cliff, attempted to gain altitude to clear it but failed and the plane hit the mountain. Snow was melted away from the wreckage.

The City Herald Pasco Washington 1955-11-18

Listing of Casualties:
Crew Members:
1st Lt. GEORGE F. PAPPAS, San Antonio, Tex.
2nd Lt. PAUL E. WINHAM, San Antonio, Tex.
AIrman 2/C GUY R. FASCLAS, Nephi, Utah.
S/Sgt. CLAYTON FARRIS, San Antonio, Tex.
Civilian Employees:
JAMES F. BRAY, Air Force civilian employee, Houston, Tex.
JAMES W. BROWN, Air Force civilian employee, Savannah, Ga.
FREDERICK F. HANKS, consultant, Pasadena, Cal.
RICHARD HRUDA, technician, Hollywood, Cal.
RODNEY H. KREIMENDAHL, technician, Hollywood, Cal.
WILLIAM MARR, Air Force civilian employee, Hyattsville, Md.
TERRENCE O'DONNELL, Air Force civilian employee, New York City, N.Y.
HAROLD C. SILENT, consultant, Los Angeles, Cal.
EDWIN J. UROLATIS, Air Force civilian employee, Brockton, Mass.
S/Sgt. JOHN H. GAINES, USAF, Mary Esther, Fla.

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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!