Cheaha Wilderness Adventure - Airplane Crash Site

The airplane crash site near McDill Point, AL

On Day 1 of our Cheaha hiking trip, we came across the crash site of an airplane.  I assumed it would be a Cessna because those things are always crashing.  However, Brent shocked me by saying, "Do you know what plane this is?"  It was a Mooney!  I cannot believe the irony involved in this situation.  The fact that we worked for the manufacturer who produced this aircraft, albeit later models than this, and we happened to be hiking on a trail to went right beside a crashed one was very ironic to us! 

Needless to say, when we discovered that it was a Mooney we were excited and fascinated beyond belief.  We spent the next half hour exploring and studying the wreckage, identifying parts and trying to determine what happened. 

I decided that as soon as I came home, I would determine which aircraft it was and hopefully who died. We couldn't help but believe the pilot didn't survive.  Look at the wreckage!  

Below, I will share my pictures and the identification and assessment of those parts. I cannot guarantee the accuracy due to the condition of the wreckage, so if there are any mistakes, please forgive me.

This is what is left of the horizontal stabilizers.  

 The vertical stabilizer was missing and we could not find it.  The vertical stabilizer would have attached in the center of the above piece.

The remains of the metal roll-cage that surrounds the cabin of the fuselage.

The metal roll-cage lends structural stability to the cabin section of the fuselage for added safety for the pilot and passengers of the aircraft. The engine mount would have attached to the front on which the engine would have been mounted at the very front of the aircraft.  We did not find any evidence of the engine or mount and assume that it was removed after the crash.  We also did not find any trace of the landing gear and we assume they were removed as well.  The wheel wells in the wings were empty. 

The remains of the firewall.

This is the firewall, which was installed between the engine and the cabin.  It offered extra protection for the plane's occupants in case of an engine fire. 

A fuel line attached to the firewall.

This is where the wing connected to the fuselage.

 Above, you can see evidence of where the wing was attached to the fuselage.  Inside the roll-cage, you can see a large strip of metal laying across what was once a plane.  This was part of the wing spar.  The pilot's seats would have been mounted above this.

A piece of one of the charred wing.

Part of the wing showing a piece of the step.

Brent examining a flap hinge which was locked in the down position.

 Brent was very fascinated by the flap hinge which was locked in the down position.  He looked at the one remaining flap and this hinge and believes that the pilot extended his flaps fully some time before he crashed.  This is very curious and makes us wonder what the pilot was doing.  Extended flaps would slow the aircraft and increase lift.  You usually only lower flaps when coming in for a landing.  Was he trying to come in for a landing somewhere?
The roll cage and fuselage were lying in a south by southwest direction.  Was this where the craft landing after crashing or was the fuselage moved to this position later?  Was the pilot flying in a southernly direction in an attempt to reach Ashland airport to land?

A view looking back into the tail cone. 

A view looking toward the cabin through the tail cone.

Due to the condition of the fuselage, we guess that the aircraft rolled or flipped over at least once of twice before reaching its resting place.  There was significant crumpling of the sheet metal and interior structure all around the craft.

A hose clamp that I found laying inside the fuselage.

The right side of the plane with N6...6Q of the registration number visible. 

The writing in black next to the red X was someone's attempt at humor that states, "I knew I should have taken the bus."

A piece of a wing with indentions from its impact with a tree.

A piece of a wing torn open to review the yellow wing spar.

A view of the cabin section and the metal roll-cage that protects it.  

A view of an access panel.

This is where the tail assembly attached to the fuselage.

Brent was very fascinated that the hinge that attached the tail assembly to the fuselage was still intact on the plane.  He always thought that the hinge would be the weakest point of the aircraft's tail.  He thought if the tail were to break off, it would break at the hinge point.  However, in this case, the tail assembly was torn off, but the hinge was left intact on the plane.  How interesting.  I guess the hinge point is not always the weakest point.

A view of the aircraft standing on its left hand side. 

A wing tip with its light missing. 

Part of the interior of the wing.  Notice the scorch marks.

More discoloration to the metal on the wing spar due to fire.

This section of the wing was crushed by an impact, probably with a tree.

Close-up of impacted section of wing.

The rusted push rod for the flight controls.  

Another impact area on the wing, probably from another tree.

 There was lots of evidence of a massive fire around the plane.  The cabin was gone...as in aliens zapped it away.  So either (A) rescue workers hauled everything cabin related away, or (B) the cabin burned. Considering the state of advanced decay of the roll cage, which Brent says is due to extreme heat, and the evidence of a very hot fire on the sheet metal below, we think that most of the cabin burned away.

Brent holding a piece of the cabin skin that was seriously burned.  Little else remained of the cabin.

A view of the underside of the tail assembly.

Link to NTSB data
Here are the details of the crash from the National Transportation Safety Board's website:
Aircraft: Mooney M20C, Registration N6386QPilot Data: Private name; age 50; 500 total hours flight time; 200 hours flight time in Mooney aircraft; not     instrument rated.Date of crash: 12/26/1972Location:  near McDill Point in Cheaha Wilderness, ALDeparture Point: Longview, TXIntended Destination: Marietta, GAPhase of Operation in Flight: Normal CruiseType of Accident: Collision with Ground, pilot in controlProbable Cause: Pilot in command, continued VFR flight into adverse weather conditionsFactors: weather-low ceiling; weather-obstructions to vision; weather-high obstructionWeather Briefing:  pilot received weather briefing; method unknownWeather Forecast: substantially correctMissing Aircraft:  Recovered later. Fire after impact. Aircraft recovered 12/28/72 about 100 feet below mountain ridge.
Summary for those not versed in flight terminology:  A 50 year old man took off from Longview, TX on Dec. 26, 1972 flight bound for Marietta, GA.  He only had 200 hours flight time in a Mooney aircraft.  He was not instrument rated, which means that he is not certified to fly at night or in bad weather, i.e. anytime he cannot see out the windows and must rely only on his instruments to fly.  He continued his flight even though he knew of adverse weather conditions.  Somewhere over AL, he was having difficulty seeing, probably due to cloud cover.  He dropped too low while flying and impacted the high point of a ridge in between the cities of Ashland and Oxford in AL. He died. 


These are our thoughts on the crash.  We do not know the exact details of what happened.  Also, the crash site is 39 years old, and therefore the details of the evidence have long been erased by both the elements and human curiosity.  It was invigorating to act as detectives and try to determine what happened and identify the parts to learn their story.   However, even amongst all our fun, my heart goes out to the pilot and his family.  No one should have to die in such a tragic way.