Signal Mountain, TN Coast Guard Plane Crash, Jan 1948

TWO AIRMEN KILLED NEAR CHATTANOOGA.

COAST GUARD PLANE BURNS AFTER CRASH.

Chattanooga, Tenn., -- AP -- Two unidentified men were burned to death in an airplane crash near Chattanooga Friday night, said Signal Mountain Police Chief Chas. Brown.
The plane, said to be a Coast Guard J4F2 en route from Memphis to Chattanooga, crashed at 8:05 p.m., according to eye-witness Bill Vandergriff.
He said he rushed to the plane but couldn't "save the two occupants because of the fierce heat." He said the bodies were charred.
Vandergriff said the plane crashed and burst into flames 50 yards from the Taft Highway seven miles west on the Hamilton-Sequatchie County line.
He said he ran to the plane and salvaged some baggage that was thrown clear of the flames.
"The two men must have been dead before the fire reached them. Because there was no movement that I could see," Vandergriff said.
Chief Brown said the plane was a two-engined plane that bore the numerals 32977.
Lt. Howard Strum, public relations officer at the Naval Air Station at Millington, near Memphis, said the plane was based at San Diego, Calif., and was enroute to an unknown East Coast field.
Aboard the craft were the pilot and an aviation machinist mate, Strum said, adding that their names would not be released until next of kin had been notified.
Strum said the plane landed at Millington for fuel and weather reports and took off again for Chattanooga where it was supposed to land at 8:04 p.m. One minute before it crashed.
A board of investigation officers will be at the scene of the crash today, Strum said.

Kingsport News Tennessee 1948-01-03

Fatalities:
Ens. ROGER W. WHALE.
AMM1 KRISTIAN F. ANDERSON.
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!