On 7/4/67 the Champion 7GCAA Citabria 150 N8340V took off from Bakersfield on a scheduled round trip flight to Needles and back. The purpose of the flight was to inspect a Pacific Gas and Electric Company pipeline. While flying at a low altitude, the airplane stalled and spun crashing and burning north of Route 66 near the small community of Amboy, California. Killed in the accident were pilot Harold Bassett and his 14 year old son Eldon.

Driving on old Route 66 now renamed National Trails Hwy. Not much traffic on this highway since Interstate 40 was constructed. The start of the hike to the Citabria crash site was a short ways off the highway.

The first piece I came upon was from one of the ailerons. Looks like it washed down from the crash site.

It had a piece of the wooden rear wing spar and a couple of the hinges attached to it.

A little farther, found a piece of plexiglass from one of the windows.

The remains of the Citabria. It was about a quarter mile from where I found the first piece.

The left wing with one of the fuel tanks.

Closer view of the top side of the fuel tank.

Bottom side of the same fuel tank.

Partially buried wing ribs and wire braces.

The rear wing spar.

The left wing strut.

The front spar can be seen on the tip section where the leading edge is missing.

Closer view of the front spar showing the front strut mount.

The left wing's front attachment bracket.

The right wing's front attachment bracket.

This view of the wreckage shows the smashed remains of the fuselage. Only the steel tubing remains, no sign of the wooden formers and stringers.

Closer view of the fuselage. Part of the main landing gear can be seen .

Closer view showing the attachment point for part of the main gear.

One of the main gear axles.

Firewall and engine mount. There was no sign of the engine at the site. It must have been recovered along with some other parts .

The other side of the firewall.

Attachment point of the left wing strut.

The fuel tank and strut from the right wing.

Another view of the fuel tank. Half of it was melted away from the post crash fire.

The strut was still attached to a piece of the front wing spar.

The tail assembly was in fairly good condition considering the damage on the fuselage.

The right stabilizer and elevator.

Close up of the elevator's counter balance.

Trim tab on the left elevator.

The hinges for the missing rudder can be seen on the fin.

On the hike back to the truck, I followed what looked like the flow path of the drainage looking for pieces that washed down. This piece was about a hundred yards from the site.

I little farther, found a rib and wing tip.

Close up of the fiberglass wing tip showing the nails used to attach the ribs to the wing spars.

Looks like a piece from the wing tip.

About three hundred yards from the site was this access cover.

The other side of the cover.

This piece from a wing rib was the farthest. It was just over a quarter mile from the site.

Heading home on Route 66. While at the site, keep thinking about the sad fact that the pilot had his son along with him on the flight. Being that it was July, he must have been off school for the summer and was tagging along with his dad while he was working.

THE END