SA-16A Albatross Crash Site

November 23rd 2016





Summery :

 The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large twin-radial engine amphibious flying boat, primarily as a search and rescue aircraft. Originally designated as the SA-16 for the USAF.

This SA-16A (#51-001) was assigned to the 580th Air Resupply and Communications Squadron based at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.

On January 24th 1952, the mission of this aircraft was to fly from Mountain Home AFB nonstop to San Diego, California and return to Mountain Home the next morning.
This was a classified training mission that supported C.I.A. operations in the cold war.
Such Ops included dropping agents in places like China, North Korea, and other very tough spots.
At about 6:30PM the aircraft was at 11,000 ft over Death Valley when one of its two engines failed.
In the dark, with the aircraft loosing altitude, the decision was made to bailout.
The six man crew did this successfully and landed minutes later some fifteen miles north of Furnace Creek in Death Valley.
The aircraft flew on descending slowly for about 20 miles until it crashed virtually intact in the upper reaches of Dolomite Canyon in the Panamint Mountains.


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The aircraft crashed on the steep mountain hillside.
The front section of the aircraft had crashed into pieces at the impact, but amazingly the rear section had stayed intact.
Many wreckes fell down the hill for several hundred feet into the canyon below.


    
Description



Manufacturer:
Grumman
Base model:
SA-16
Version:
A
Nickname:
Albatross
Designation System:
U.S. Air Force
Designation Period:
1949-1973 (USAF)
Basic role:
Air-sea rescue flying boat
Serial Number:
51-001
Year built:
1951
Crash Date:
1/24/52
Cause of Crash:
Engine Failure
Fatalities:
0




Specifications



Length:
62' 10" 19.16 m
Height:
25' 10" 7.88 m
Wingspan:
96' 8" 29.47 m
Wingarea:
1035.0 sq ft 96.2 sq m
Empty Weight:
22,883 lb 10,401 kg
Max Takeoff Weight:
37,500 lb 17,045 kg





Propulsion



No. of Engines:
2
Powerplant:
Wright R-1820-76 Cyclone 9 nine-cylinder single-row air-cooled radial engine
Thrust:
1,425 hp each





Performance



Max Speed:
236 mph 380 km/h 205 kt
Ceiling:
21,500 ft 6,550 m
Range:
2,850 miles 4,589 km







    
Other SA-16A Link :
 Wikipedia Link : Grumman HU-16 Albatross
    



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