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Aviation ‘wreck chasers’ gear up for 2009
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P-38 Lightning. Colorado Aviation Historical Society
With more than 50 peaks punching through 14,000 feet and thousands above 11,000 feet, Colorado has some of the wildest flying conditions in the world. It’s no wonder the uneven landscape is littered with crashed airplanes from nearly a century of flight.
In the early days aircraft performance quickly outpaced meteorology, and weather reporting stations were either nonexistent or far apart.
Finding these old wrecks combines high-altitude archaeology and mountaineering. Sometimes getting there can be more dangerous than what got them there.
With wintry weather due to arrive soon, intrepid teams of “wreck chasers” are gearing up for 2009. The Colorado Aviation Historical Society supports missions to acquire, restore and display aircraft that have connections to Colorado. It also funds the Colorado Aviation Archaeology Program, which does field research.
The program is currently focused on one of the earliest P-38 Lightning crashes in the United States. It was the second fatal military accident in Colorado following Pearl Harbor. Field researchers, among other things, also led an expedition to Stormy Peaks to study a B-17 Flying Fortress crash site.
Want to get involved? There will be a training session over the weekend of May 30 and 31, 2009, for new field agents. There is additional training in June for those who want to receive official accreditation from the historical society.
Other links:
Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research
Wreck chasing in Colorado and Wyoming
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