Date & Time: Dec 2, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
42-5197
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Pocatello - Pocatello
MSN:
3736
YOM:
1942
Location:
Grace
Idaho
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
10
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Pocatello on a night navigation training exercise on behalf of the 96th Bomb Group. On board were 10 crew members. A half hour later the aircraft was seen circling the town of Grace, Idaho, at very low altitude. Residents reported that the bomber then headed east toward the northern Wasatch Mountains in bad weather conditions, with poor visibility. The pilot and co-pilot sighted the mountain range at the last minute, and they pulled the plane into a steep climb to avoid colliding with an 8,500 foot peak. A violent stall followed and the aircraft plunged into a heavily timbered area of Eight Mile Canyon. Impacting in a near-vertical descent, the aircraft disintegrated, killing the ten crewmen on board. The wreckage was discovered two days later by Forest Service rangers. Because of severe snow conditions, the recovery effort wasn't completed until spring 1943. All 10 crew members were killed.
Crew:
2nd Lt Harold K. Simpson, pilot,
2nd Lt Wendell L. Sims, copilot,
Cpl Charles L. Walker Jr., flight engineer,
2nd Lt Thomas J. Wymond, navigator,
2nd Lt Chalmers G. Wenrich, bombardier,
Sgt Neal L. Slinker, assistant engineer,
S/Sgt John E. Lazansky, radio operator,
Pfc Nicholas M. Zompetti, assistant radio,
Pvt Donald W. Seaney, air gunner,
Pvt Joseph R. Hughes, air gunner.