Date & Time: Jan 23, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Douglas B-18 Bolo
Operator:
Registration:
37-520
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Monterrey – March
MSN:
2520
YOM:
1937
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
2
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
While approaching March AFB, flying over the Tehachapi Mountain Range, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with high winds, sleet, snow, rain and icing. The pilot informed ground about his situation and requested rescue teams to stand by. Shortly later, the captain instructed the occupant to bail out when the airplane crashed into a hillside located near Pidgeon Pass, some 12 km north of March AFB and three km northeast of Riverside. Two passengers were found alive while four other occupants were killed in the crash.
Crew:
Lt Raymond M. Sumi, pilot, †
Lt Benjamin G. Holloway, copilot, †
Sgt Gerald D. Wilcox, †
Pvt Leonard E. Riley, †
Sgt Cecil Purvis,
Pvt Frank Carroll.