American Airlines Flight 009

Virginia

Searchers spotted the wreck from the air, saw no one moving, and told the families everyone had died. Five people were still alive on the mountain.

aviationdisasterpeople

A Douglas DC-3 flying from New York to Los Angeles struck the wooded summit of Glade Mountain in the early hours of February twenty-third, nineteen forty-five. The last radio call came at five past two, the captain reporting four thousand feet over Pulaski, Virginia. The plane was descending through rain and cloud. It hit the trees at about three thousand nine hundred feet, and wreckage scattered along a path of four hundred and fifty feet. One survivor, a young Marine named Irving Schwartz, dragged a man with a broken hip to shelter beside the wreck. It was freezing and they were in short sleeves. He pulled coats from the cabin and tore a piece of carpet off the floor for a blanket. He could hear voices in the dark but could not reach them. The wreck was seen from the air at twenty to one that afternoon. No survivors were visible, so the families were told everyone had died.

This is the first of 3 parts. The rest runs about 3 minutes and is read to you as you drive past. Hear the whole piece.

What this was written from
The searchers were unable to see any survivors so the assumption was made that all of the passengers had perished. Family members of the passengers were given the grim news.

Written from Wikipedia, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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