Pinto Mountains BT-15 4/5/08

On 6/23/46 Vultee BT-15 #42-1833 crashed in the Pinto Mountains 8.5 miles southeast of Twentynine Palms killing Lockheed Aircraft employee Arthur T. Coddington who had been en route from Wi ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:58:21 -0700

Joe Idoni
On 6/23/46 Vultee BT-15 #42-1833 crashed in the Pinto Mountains 8.5 miles southeast of Twentynine Palms killing Lockheed Aircraft employee Arthur T. Coddington who had been en route from Wi ...

Sunrise on the I-10. Heading out to an aera southeast of Twentynine Palms.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:15:58 -0700

Joe Idoni
Sunrise on the I-10. Heading out to an aera southeast of Twentynine Palms.

Craig Fuller emailed me some info he got from Pat Macha that explains where the BT-15 wreckage is located. There was also a few photos, but they were photocopies of old photos and didn't sho ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:00 -0700

Joe Idoni
Craig Fuller emailed me some info he got from Pat Macha that explains where the BT-15 wreckage is located. There was also a few photos, but they were photocopies of old photos and didn't sho ...

The info from Pat said the wreckage could be spotted by hiking out to a saddle in some hills. This photo was taken from those hills looking to the west. The photos showed the wreckage in the ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:03 -0700

Joe Idoni
The info from Pat said the wreckage could be spotted by hiking out to a saddle in some hills. This photo was taken from those hills looking to the west. The photos showed the wreckage in the ...

Our camp the next morning on the west side of the mountains. Craig and Brent arrived Friday night.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:04 -0700

Joe Idoni
Our camp the next morning on the west side of the mountains. Craig and Brent arrived Friday night.

A short way up the road was this locked gate. If it was opened, we could have driven most of the way.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:07 -0700

Joe Idoni
A short way up the road was this locked gate. If it was opened, we could have driven most of the way.

Looking back to my truck parked near the locked gate. Craig came up with the idea of using the road on the west side instead of climbing up the east side, good idea.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:08 -0700

Joe Idoni
Looking back to my truck parked near the locked gate. Craig came up with the idea of using the road on the west side instead of climbing up the east side, good idea.

A view to the east from the top of the mountain. The arrow is pointing to the hill I hiked up the day before to try and spot the wreckage.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:10 -0700

Joe Idoni
A view to the east from the top of the mountain. The arrow is pointing to the hill I hiked up the day before to try and spot the wreckage.

Craig starting down the slope so we can get a better view of the canyons.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:22:11 -0700

Joe Idoni
Craig starting down the slope so we can get a better view of the canyons.

Craig was able to spot some of the features in the screen shot from this vantage point.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:13 -0700

Joe Idoni
Craig was able to spot some of the features in the screen shot from this vantage point.

This is the screen shot from Pat Macha's DVD "Wreck Finding" that we used to locate the canyon. Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:14 -0700

Joe Idoni
This is the screen shot from Pat Macha's DVD "Wreck Finding" that we used to locate the canyon. Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

After Brent spotted some wreckage below, we knew that this was the right canyon. You can see how some of the features match the screen shot.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:15 -0700

Joe Idoni
After Brent spotted some wreckage below, we knew that this was the right canyon. You can see how some of the features match the screen shot.

You can't tell in this photo, but this is the crash site of the BT-15. Like I figured, it's gone.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:18 -0700

Joe Idoni
You can't tell in this photo, but this is the crash site of the BT-15. Like I figured, it's gone.

Joe(me), Brent and Craig at the site.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:32 -0700

Joe Idoni
Joe(me), Brent and Craig at the site.

All that remains at the site today are a lot of small pieces.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:20 -0700

Joe Idoni
All that remains at the site today are a lot of small pieces.

The next four photos show what the crash site looked like in the early 70s. Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:25 -0700

Joe Idoni
The next four photos show what the crash site looked like in the early 70s. Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:29 -0700

Joe Idoni
Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:31 -0700

Joe Idoni
Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:28 -0700

Joe Idoni
Image by: Pat J. Macha www.aircraftwrecks.com

There wasn't much recognizable parts remaining. Here are some plates from a battery.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:35 -0700

Joe Idoni
There wasn't much recognizable parts remaining. Here are some plates from a battery.

One of the few pieces of aluminum.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:37 -0700

Joe Idoni
One of the few pieces of aluminum.

More pieces, a small fragment of red navigation light is in the center of the photo.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:38 -0700

Joe Idoni
More pieces, a small fragment of red navigation light is in the center of the photo.

Melted aluminum.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:40 -0700

Joe Idoni
Melted aluminum.

Brent found a piece from one of the wheels.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:42 -0700

Joe Idoni
Brent found a piece from one of the wheels.

Pieces from the wheel. This was the largest piece at the site. Someone really cleaned it up.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:43 -0700

Joe Idoni
Pieces from the wheel. This was the largest piece at the site. Someone really cleaned it up.

Piece from the canopy.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:45 -0700

Joe Idoni
Piece from the canopy.

Melted aluminum.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:47 -0700

Joe Idoni
Melted aluminum.

No idea what this is from.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:49 -0700

Joe Idoni
No idea what this is from.

This tag reads, COIL SET CALIBRATION FOR RADIO TRANSMITTER

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:51 -0700

Joe Idoni
This tag reads, COIL SET CALIBRATION FOR RADIO TRANSMITTER

Craig found this piece. He recognized it as coming from the battery box.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:53 -0700

Joe Idoni
Craig found this piece. He recognized it as coming from the battery box.

Heading up to the top on the way out.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:54 -0700

Joe Idoni
Heading up to the top on the way out.

Back on the road.

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:16:56 -0700

Joe Idoni
Back on the road.

Following Craig back out to the highway. He would wait up for me to catch every once and while, no way could I keep up with him on the dirt roads. It felt good to be able to find the site ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Joe Idoni) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:17:02 -0700

Joe Idoni
Following Craig back out to the highway. He would wait up for me to catch every once and while, no way could I keep up with him on the dirt roads. It felt good to be able to find the site ...