Missing Plane Located Near Vogelsang Peak in Yosemite National Park

Single Engine Plane Missing Since Mid-December 2012

The single engine plane that was reported missing over Yosemite National Park on Monday, December 17, 2012, has been located. The plane, which was largely intact, was spotted by a park visitor near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp on Saturday, July 6, 2013. The Vogelsang area is in the rugged high country of Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite National Park Rangers hiked to the location of the plane on Sunday, July 7, 2013. Nicol Wilson, the pilot of the plane, was found deceased at the location. He has been positively identified.

Wilson, who was flying from the Santa Barbara area to the Mammoth Lakes Airport on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, disappeared during a winter storm on Monday, December 17, 2012. After extensive searching of the Yosemite high country, the search was suspended for the winter season. Yosemite National Park has searched extensively over the past several months, once conditions allowed for travel through the high country.

The Yosemite National Park Helitak crew was greatly assisted by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Civil Air Patrol (CAP), California Emergency Services, and YoDogs (canine search and rescue assistance) during the extensive search operation.

Yosemite National Park Rangers will be removing the plane from the backcountry over the next several weeks.

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eeek
Yosemite National Park Rangers will be removing the plane from the backcountry over the next several weeks.

Does anyone know if the park removes older plane crashes--assuming they know about them? Like this (Kuna Crest)?



Or this (Buena Vista Crest)?



Photosynth

(The engine cylinder was maybe 100 yards from the other debris...)

We didn't see any signs of the infamous Lower Merced Pass Lake plane crash (nor any remains of its cargo...) when we were there--perhaps it was cleaned up recently?

I also know they removed the remains of this recent crash in lower Cherry Canyon, but that was (just) outside the park.

There was some plane crash in Stubblefield... and they removed that.

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Regarding the 1938 TWA DC-2 crash (Mt Bruce / Buena Vista Crest):

As Al Gordon told the story, they dug a hole and buried most of it soon after. This is common practice everywhere. You need to remove/destroy it to aid searches for other missing planes. Prevents erroneous reporting of the wreckage as new. Al was there and noticed a generator and hid it under a log to salvage later for the copper. A recent Mariposa Gazette article on the 75th anniversary relates that they used dynamite to break up the plane (and presumably to dig the hole to bury it). Some time later remaining pieces were gathered together and a bonfire was used to melt the aluminum into less recognizable gray slag.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2013 05:49PM by Hungry Bear.

Just a few weeks ago I was wondering to myself if they had found the plane yet. Glad they've got it located now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2013 09:44PM by marmot.

Basilbop, thanks for those pictures, that was really cool to see. I remember that crash in cherry canyon, I was backpacking in the canyon a week after it happened and looked for it, but since we couldn't cross the creek we didn't find it.

Last summer was visiting ~Givens Lake area and discovered a rusted 50-cal just laying there, wrenched from something...total wreckage found close-by, over the next rise. Eerie.
Later, when I inquired about it in the Valley history offices (above/behind visitors center), the librarian pulled out a large TOPO with the marked locations of 30+ wrecks that are in the park. So far have seen 3.