Near Quilcene, WA Air Force C141 Crashes Into Olympic Mountains, Mar 1975

WEATHER STALLS AIRPLANE SEARCH.

Quilcene, Wash. (AP) -- Stalled by deep snow and high winds, officials mapped an arduouos rescue trek by snowmobile and foot Friday to reach the presumed crash site of an Air Force C141 Starlifter in a rugged, roadless section of the Olympic Mountains.
The four-engine jet of the Air Force Military Airlift Command was carrying 16 persons, including a crew of 10 based at McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma, and six passengers. The plane was on a flight from Yokota Air Base in Japan to McChord.
Air Force officials said the names of those aboard wouldn't be released until next of kin are notified.
An electronic crash signal was pinpointed early Friday near the 7,000-foot level of Warrior Peak, just inside the eastern border of Olympic National Park about nine miles southwest of the logging village of Quilcene.
Quilcene is on the west shore of Hood Canal, about 54 highway and Puget Sound ferry miles northwest of Seattle.
It was snowing heavily in the area and no aerial search could be made, although an Air Force HC 130 aircraft carrying a para-rescue team was in the area and Army and Air Force helicopters stood by.
The rescue teams included Mountain Search and Rescue personnel, as well as Air Force and Coast Guard teams.
Rescue teams decided on a route following the Dungeness River, coming in from north of the site, rather that a shorter route from Quilcene where where was more avalanche danger.
Severe storm warnings were issued for the area Friday with 50-to-60 mile an hour winds expected.
There were about 20 feet of snow in the area where the plane is presumed to have crashed, officials said.
A spokesman at McChord said the last radio message was received at 11 p.m. Thursday and the aircraft disappeared from the radar screen five minutes later.
The plane had been due to arrive at McChord at 11:15 p.m.
The cloud ceiling Thursday was as low as 2,000 feet.
The crew hadn't indicated any problems in its last radio message to McChord, Air Force officials said.

The Daily Chronicle Centralia Washington 1975-03-21

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RESCUE TEAMS LIFTED TO STARLIFTER CRASH.

Bulletin.
Quilcene, Wash. (AP) -- Search and rescue workers reported Saturday none of the 16 passengers survived the crash of an Air Force C-141 Starlifter in the rugged Olympic Mountains. In a radio message monitored by newsmen the rescue crews said there was no sign of life after checking the three aircraft sections spread across a steep slope on the 5,000-foot level of Mount Constance.

Quilcene, Wash. (AP) -- Two search and rescue teams have been airlifted to the wreckage of an Air Force C-141 Starlifter but there was no immediate report on whether there are survivors.
The rescuers were carried by helicopters to the steep mountainside where the aircraft crashed late Thursday with 16 aboard.
Snoqualmie Pass Snow Ranger KEN WHITE, an avalanche technician, said the search effort was further complicated by the avalanche condition at the scene of the crash.
"The impact of the crash probably stabilized the slope, but there are three-foot fractures up there and it's been snowing all day and it's going to snow all night," he said. "That's a big, open slope and the whole thing could go. If it does, it'll be all over."
An avalanche would bury the wreckage beyond discovery until late spring or early summer, he added.
The civilian volunteers of the Mountain Rescue Council said they also were frustrated by what they considered often contradictory orders from various military commanders in Port Angeles. The official search command post reportedly was moved to the Olympic Peninsula community without consulting search teams in the field.
"Every order I've given today has been countermanded," complained GLENN KELSEY, Mountain Rescue Council coordinator.
The four-engine Military Airlift Command jet was on a flight from Yokota Air Base, Japan, to McChord Air Force near Tacoma, Wash.
The craft had been scheduled to arrive at McChord at 11:15 p.m. Thursday. The last radio message received was at 11 p.m. and gave no indication of trouble, officials said. The plane disappeared from radar screens five minutes later.
The Air Force identified the crew as:
Pilot Lt. EARL R. EVANS, 28, Houston, Tex.
Co-pilot Capt. FRANK E. EVE, 27, Dallas, Tex.
Co-pilot Lt. HAROLD D. ARENSMAN, 25, Irving, Tex.
Navigator Lt. STANLEY Y. LEE, 25, Oakland, Calif.
Navigator Lt. Col. RICHARD B. THORNTON, 40, Sherman, Tex.
Flight engineer M. Sgt. ROBERT J. McGARRY, 37, Shrewsbury, Mo.
Flight engineer T. Sgt. JAMES R. CAMPTON, 45, Aberdeen, S. D.
Loadmaster S. Sgt. PETER J. ARNOLD, 25, Rochester, N. Y.
Loadmaster A. 1C ROBERT D. GASKIN, 21, Fremont, Neb.
Navigator Lt. Col. RALPH W. BURNS, JR., 42, Aiken, S. C.
The Navy identified the passengers as:
PO 3.C TERRY WAYNE HOWARD, Sylmar, Calif.
PO 3.C JONES EVES, Ridgewood, N. J.
CWO SAMUEL EDWARD FLEMING, Alameda, Calif.
Lt. EDWIN WAYNE UPDEGRAVE, San Diego, Calif.
Seaman DONALD RAY DICKSON, Tempe, Ariz.
PO 1.C WILLIAM MICHAEL RAYMOND, Coupeville, Wash.
The Navy had no ages for the men.
TERRY, EVES and DISKSON were crewmen from the USS Dubuque. FLEMING and UPTEGROVE were off the USS Coral Sea. RAYMOND was from Attack Squadron 95 from Whidbey Island, Wash., stationed aboard the Dubuque.

The Daily Chronicle Centralia Washington 1975-03-22
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!