Things falling off aircraft

[JohnnyDrama]

I was out working in eastern Utah and we came across this. We had been finding little bits (notebook paper size) of metal scattered around an area of several acres and didn't figure out what it was until we found this. We thought it might have been aliens. Does anybody out there have an idea what this might have fallen off of? There isn't much left but if at all possible I'd like to know.

70579

[Martinjmpr]

Where in Eastern Utah?

Did you know there were several missile launch sites near Green River, launching missiles towards White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_Launch_Complex

Could maybe be something from that?

[BushMasterBoy]

It is one of these:
http://planecrashmap.com/list/ut/

[SuperiorDG]

Looks like it came from a C69 Dickfer

[kidicarus13]

It is one of these:
http://planecrashmap.com/list/ut/

The map doesn't seem to be very comprehensive. I can't even find this military crash... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_D._Button

[JohnnyDrama]

Here's a follow up 'cause I know all y'all are interested. Turns out it is likely wreckage from a B-52G that broke up in flight back in 1961.

https://www.canyoncountryzephyr.com/2016/12/05/from-the-zephyr-archives-the-crash-of-felon-22-by-jim-stiles/

Here's one of the more dramatic accounts of the event. I spent some time looking at the planescrashmap link from BushMasterBoy and none of those crashes seemed to match the location or account for such a large debris scatter.

That Green River link was interesting as well. Utah is a surreal place.

[KevDen2005]

Looks like it came from a C69 Dickfer

What's a Dickfer?

I personally think it's a water heater.

[hurley842002]

What's a Dickfer?

I personally think it's a water heater.
This is what I think it is....https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170517/17c7fa63ca6273a4ddd0f7a0dc560e1c.jpg

[BushMasterBoy]

It is rumor that nuclear weapons were on the aircraft. It would be interesting to search the area with a geiger counter. Seems weird they let one guy die after he successfully parachuted. Anything is possible when it comes to reporting a "Broken Arrow". US Air Force Code word for a nuclear incident.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/274012/DID-SEARCH-BY-AF-FOR-POSSIBLE-N-BOMB-AT-1961-CRASH-SITE-COST--AIRMAN-HIS-LIFE.html?pg=all

[Martinjmpr]

I think the few incidents of actual weapons being lost are well documented and the article even points out that the classified records that were finally released make no mention of a weapon on board.

Furthermore by all accounts this was a training mission and by 1961 weapons were only carried on operational missions.

However, just because there was no weapon on board doesn't mean there wasn't other classified stuff on there that the USAF didn't want people to find. Electronic countermeasures, communications code books, even modifications to the air frame could have been sufficient in 1961 for the USAF to say that recovering some component was more important than recovering an enlisted crewman. And I know that sucks (my guess is if the missing crewman had been the pilot they'd have gotten to him right away) but them's the breaks.

[Hoser]

When planes come apart above the ground, parts can be thrown for miles.

The SUMIT38 debris field was miles long.

[rondog]

I remember an A-10 that crashed a few years back here in CO, but the 500lb bombs it was carrying weren't with it. Were those bombs ever found?

[BushMasterBoy]

They never found the bombs. Again rumor has that the bombs were dropped and exploded. I worked at an military surplus store at the time and we equipped some guys that said they were looking for the bombs. Army Special Forces guys with mountain training saying they were going to dispose of the bombs. Never saw them again after they left. What is weird is last week I found two ammo links to a .50 machine gun near my back yard. Army helicopters used to circle the house a lot. They seemed to slow down and then finally stopped after I started bitching on here. I don't know what the fascination was.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_D._Button

[Duman]

I remember an A-10 that crashed a few years back here in CO, but the 500lb bombs it was carrying weren't with it. Were those bombs ever found?

IIRC, that was a suicide by the pilot. It took a long time to find the crash site, it was into the side of a mountain.

[D_F]

This thread is worthless without waypoints... Just saying.

[Duman]

When planes come apart above the ground, parts can be thrown for miles.

The SUMIT38 debris field was miles long.

I googled SUMIT38, one of the contributing factors was a 'buggy' temp sensor they couldn't fix.

Very rarely have I encountered a bug that I couldn't get to root cause. It must have been a knotty problem.

[Gman]

What's a Dickfer?

http://youtu.be/35quNI5ed_k

[Hoser]

I googled SUMIT38, one of the contributing factors was a 'buggy' temp sensor they couldn't fix.

Very rarely have I encountered a bug that I couldn't get to root cause. It must have been a knotty problem.

Burned out thermocouples. Indicated cooler than it actually was.

When the engine burned off the wing, the plane came apart.

[rondog]

They never found the bombs. Again rumor has that the bombs were dropped and exploded. I worked at an military surplus store at the time and we equipped some guys that said they were looking for the bombs. Army Special Forces guys with mountain training saying they were going to dispose of the bombs. Never saw them again after they left. What is weird is last week I found two ammo links to a .50 machine gun near my back yard. Army helicopters used to circle the house a lot. They seemed to slow down and then finally stopped after I started bitching on here. I don't know what the fascination was.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_D._Button

Wow, 20 years ago? No shit.....

[kidicarus13]

it was into the side of a mountain.

100ft from the summit of Gold Dust Peak. The debris field was a quarter mile square; mostly vertical, not horizontal.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170518/bcc468e3a533d19cfa911731107c718f.jpg

[KevDen2005]

http://youtu.be/35quNI5ed_k

Wasn't sure if you got that I caught the reference

[Duman]

Burned out thermocouples. Indicated cooler than it actually was.

When the engine burned off the wing, the plane came apart.

I got that part, my point is why it took the crash to figure out the 'bug'? Why allow it to fly?

[Hoser]

I got that part, my point is why it took the crash to figure out the 'bug'? Why allow it to fly?

PM sent.