Don't have much info on this aircraft other than it's the F8U-2 BuNo 146977 that crashed on 7/30/63 west of the Superstition Hills. The pilot, Lt. Cdr. D. L. Whitman flying with the VF-124 was able to eject safely.

I found some info online about a jet engine that was out in the desert northwest of El Centro. It was easy finding the engine's location, but at the time didn't have any info on what aircraft it was from.

After trying to reach the site from the west for almost two hours, I gave up and tried to get to it from the east. Here I'm driving down a wash, ahead is a burned out vehicle. When I tried getting to the site from the west, I got stopped by a wash that was 30 feet arcoss and 10 feet deep. Spent an hour trying to find a way across, then on the way back to the highway, got stopped by the Border Patrol on ATVs. After searching my truck they let me go.

After driving down the wash for awhile, I spotted what looked like a car door in a bush.

Turned out to be a piece of aircaft wreckage.

Drove up out of the wash and followed the tire tracks to the engine.

Me with the Pratt & Whitney J57-P-16 engine.

View from the other side.

Tail end view.

Closer view of some of the turbine blades.

The engine is in really good shape for coming from a plane that crashed??? First thought that maybe the pilot bellied it in the desert, but from what little I found on the accident, it said that the pilot ejected.