Logo Norseman Crash Site - 1
Updates on the Aircraft Wreckage Found in the
S. Nantahala Wilderness Area, Georgia
All Text & Images:
Copyright (2018)

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First, a recap of photos from the aircraft crash found during my "Sassafras Knob" trek:


Aluminum_pieces
High on the slopes of Skut Knob, I came across these first scattered pieces of aluminum.


Hinge_detail
I tried to pull this part out for a better look, but it was frozen in the ground.


Fuselage_Structure
Looking around for additional remnants, something much larger caught my eye as I looked up slope.


Fuselage_Structure
As explained on the Sassafras Knob trek page, what was intially thought to
be a communications tower or mast turned out to be an aircraft fuselage!



Fuselage
The fuselage from the front (laying on its right side)


Fuselage
Fuselage frame from the underside


Fuselage_undercarriage_detail
Aircraft under-carriage
including remains of landing gear structure and wing strut attachments.



Tower_upper
Aft section of the structure.   It is approximately 30 feet long.


Tower-top
Aft end of the structure, with attached aluminum remnants.



Thanks to a UK Aviation Archaeology group on Facebook, the mystery aircraft was identified!   It is a Noorduyn UC-64 Norseman,
the same aircraft that bandleader Glenn Miller disappeared in while flying over the English Channel in Dec. 1944.   A Canadian
single-engine bush plane first introduced in 1935, the Norseman remained in production for almost 25 years with over 900 made.


UC-64A_Norseman
Example of a UC-64A Norseman


UC-64A_Norseman
Noorduyn factory - 1944


UC-64A_Norseman
A Norseman frame in the Noorduyn factory
Cropped from the previous photo...



Norseman_comparison
Comparison showing components on the wreck and in the Norseman factory.


Norseman_comparison
Many thanks to Jim Corbett from Northumberland, UK for these photos!


Norseman_comparison
This wing strut fitting was (for me) one of the more noticeable features in the wreckage


Norseman



Norseman
Note: The annotation should say "starboard", not "port".


You are viewing the "Norseman Crash - 1" page.
See additional pages covering the Norseman crash site:
Initial Discovery
Norseman Crash - 1 Norseman Crash - 2 Norseman Crash - 3 Norseman Crash - 4
Norseman Crash - 5 Norseman Crash - 6 Norseman Crash - 7



Norseman Index S. Nantahala Index
Hiawassee Index NE GA - NC Index