N3N Canary (or Yellow Peril) #45291 crashed June 6, 1944, 15 miles southwest
of Safford, AZ
SUMMARY: Naval Aviation Cadet John
Woodland departed Safford Municipal Airport on a routine solo flight. He
decided to fly to the top of the 11,000 foot Pinaleno Mountains and circle the
fire lookout tower on Heliograph Peak. Just as he completed a full circle, his
engine cut out. When he attempted to dive the stalled aircraft down a canyon, a
wind gust caught him and thrust the plane against the canyon wall, where the
plane crashed and he was knocked unconscious.
The forest ranger in the lookout tower and his 13
year old son hiked down to where they thought the plane had crashed and found
the unconscious pilot, bruised and bleeding profusely. He was still strapped to
his seat so they undid his harness and painstakingly carried him back to their
cabin and laid him in a bed, where he awoke a few hours later. They called the
Navy depot in Thatcher and an ambulance was dispatched to pick up cadet
Woodland.
After a 2009 visit, I was able to track down the
forest ranger's 13 year old son who is now 77 years old. He still remembers that
day vividly. He was playing at the base of the lookout tower when the yellow
plane that was circling him caught his attention. The engine cut out, and he
watched as the plane dove into the canyon below. A few days afterwards, navy
personnel spent a week at the crash disassembling and salvaging parts they could
reuse.
 |
 |
|
The old 100 foot high fire lookout tower
that cadet Woodland circled. |
Looking down at the rugged terrain below from
Heliograph Peak. |
 |
 |
| This is the cabin the ranger and his son brought cadet
Woodland to. |
Sign in front of the cabin. |
 |
 |
| The impact point. Aircraft aluminum and engine mount.
The aluminum still retains the original yellow paint. |
Engine cowling. |
 |
 |
| The bottom side of a wing component. |
The top side. |
 |
 |
| Yellow paint still remains after 65 years. |
The bottom side of the cockpit section resting against
a tree. |
 |
 |
| The cockpit is resting on it's right side. |
The cockpit. floor. The control stick would have come
through the hole in the floor. Note the shoe wear marks from years of use. |
 |
 |
| The tail section. |
The horizontal stabilizers. |
 |
 |
| The manifold. |
The Naval Aircraft Factory engine manifold data plate.
It is dated August 18, 1941. |
 |
 |
| More tail section. |
The names of the 13 year old son and his sister
scratched into this piece of wreckage a few days after the crash in 1944. |
HOME
