ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 97409
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| Date: | Sunday 24 January 1943 |
| Time: | 23:05 |
| Type: |  Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress |
| Owner/operator: | 95th BGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-5334 |
| MSN: | 3873 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Ordway, Colorado -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Pueblo AAF |
On 24 January 1943, the B-17F 42-5334 of 334th BS, 95th BG, took off from Pueblo Army Air Base at 16:54 hrs Mountain War Time (MWT) for a local nighttime bombing mission, having received a weather briefing based on earlier forecasts. At 1850 hrs MWT, weather conditions were forecast to be below minimums by 2300 hrs local. Due to atmospheric interference, 42-5334 was not contacted by Pueblo operations.
At approximately 2305 hrs MWT, it impacted high terrain while in flight in fierce snowstorm near Ordway, Colorado, by 103° 41’ 40’’ N 38° 26’ 46’’ W. All ten crew members on this flight were killed. At the time of the accident, the closest official weather observation station was La Junta Army Air Base, 28 miles southeast, which was reporting the ceiling at 400 feet, with one mile of visibility and light snow.
Investigation revealed that the airplane was trying to stay under a very low ceiling when it struck the ground with the port wing. The B-17 cartwheeled into the ground and exploded into flames. Wreckage and bodies were scattered over a considerable area. The official findings as to cause of this accident were: "85% undetermined; 10% weather; 5% material."
Crew (all killed):
2nd Lt Edward E Woodward, Jr (pilot)
2nd Lt Lester A Cattron (copilot)
2nd Lt Norval W Kelley, Jr (navigator)
2nd Lt Hascall J Young (bombardier)
Sgt Charles D McDonald (flight engineer)
S/Sgt Carl E Simpson (radio operator)
S/Sgt Charles J Burns (air gunner)
2nd Lt Martin J Walden (air gunner)
1st Lt Taylor D Hunt (air gunner)
2nd Lt Vincent T Larney (air gunner)
On 24 October 2009 four members of the Colorado Aviation Historical Society Gallery, a guest and their guide, Mr. Jim Walters, went to the crash site. While Mr. Walters gathered the property owner, the terrain to search was evaluated. The overall area was open prairie with a flat grade and unrestricted vision. Vegetation was sparse, consisting principally of little bluestem, switch and Indian grasses, along with sage, yucca and miniature cactus plants. A three foot berm, which bordered the west side of a north and south running irrigation (dry) ditch, presented the only discernible and significant change in the topography. Bottoming at 12 feet (estimated) below surface level, the west bank of this ditch was situated 160 feet due east of the established benchmark. Defining the western edge of the debris field was a little used, two-wheeled trail, which was paralleled just to the west of that by a small irrigation (wet) ditch, approximately 12 inches deep and with standing water.
The team was through the fence, on site and the search officially begun at 0932 hrs. Within two minutes of boots on the ground the first artifact, a non-descript, 4 inch square piece of aircraft aluminum, was discovered. Over the next five hours the team established a benchmark for this site and registered its elevation. The entire area was covered by a pedestrian survey, along with a limited magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) sweep. Outlining what is believed to be the entire debris field circumference, team members placed 96 orange pin flags, then registered and mapped the entire site. Identifying this debris field, which was roughly 700 feet in diameter, it was determined that the general flow of debris rests on an approximate heading of 31º magnetic (MH), which is consistent with eyewitness statements taken during the January 1943 investigation.
The area was bereft of any readily identifiable, crash related ground scarring, with the possible exception of two asymmetrical depressions, situated exactly 23 feet apart and on a 270º magnetic bearing (MB), beginning 100 feet from the established benchmark. While no official measurement was recorded, both depressions were approximately 13 inches in depth at their deepest point, and irregular in shape.
The debris field was covered with various descript and non-descript parts of the aircraft, but no complete assemblies were noted. Significant finds retained for further study included: a “cooked-off” shell and bullet (0904-CS-AR-001); segmented pieces of an oxygen control face plate (0904-CS-AR-003); the upper half of a turn-and-bank indicator faceplate (0904-CS-AR-004); a piece of structure (longeron/stringer) with part number (0904-CS-AR-002); and a rectangular aluminum piece (0904-CS-AR-005), approximately 10 ½ inches in length, found buried vertically in the two-wheeled trail on the western periphery of the debris field.
Based on a statement made by the current owner, this site definitely qualified for third-generation status: first disturbed by the military immediately post-crash (1943); family members over the succeeding years, with special emphasis in the aluminum collecting era (1960/70’s); and then external souvenir hunting and wreck-chasing visitors within the past two decades, including Mr. Jim Walters, among others (1990’s).
Collecting all 96 pin flags placed, the team secured the pasture gate at 1431 hrs. After pausing for a group photograph, individual team members departed for their domiciles.
Sources:
http://www.coloradoaviationhistoricalsociety.org/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=OrdwayB17&id=B_17debrieField
"Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945. Volume 1, January 1941-June 1943", by Anthony J. Mireles. ISBN 0-7864-2788-4
http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/8080
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Jan1943S.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20160410230941/http://www.baaa-acro.com/1943/archives/crash-of-a-boeing-b-17f-45-bo-flying-fortress-in-ordway-10-killed/
https://www.findagrave.com/page=gr&GRid=101287988
http://www.usaafdata.com/search
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordway,_Colorado
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Jan-2013 03:09 | WarNet | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 24-Jan-2016 16:18 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 31-Mar-2020 17:22 | DB | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Narrative, Operator] |
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