 |
Norseman Crash Site - 1 Updates on the Aircraft Wreckage Found in the S. Nantahala Wilderness Area, Georgia |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2018) |
|
Norseman Crash Site - 1 Updates on the Aircraft Wreckage Found in the S. Nantahala Wilderness Area, Georgia |
All Text & Images: Copyright (2018) |
| ~ If you have information about this crash, please send a Message or Email via our Guest Book (link on Home Page) ~ First, a recap of photos from the aircraft crash found during my "Sassafras Knob" trek: |
|
 |
|
| High on the slopes of Skut Knob, I came across these first scattered pieces of aluminum. |
|
 |
|
| I tried to pull this part out for a better look, but it was frozen in the ground. |
|
 |
|
| Searching for additional remnants, something much larger caught my eye as I looked up slope. |
|
 |
|
| 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! |
|
 |
|
| The fuselage from the front (laying on its right side) |
|
 |
|
| Fuselage frame from the underside |
|
 |
|
| Aircraft under-carriage including remains of landing gear structure and wing strut attachments. |
|
 |
|
| Aft section of the structure. It is approximately 30 feet long. |
|
 |
|
| 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. |
|
 |
|
| Example of a UC-64A Norseman |
|
 |
|
| Noorduyn factory - 1944 |
|
 |
|
| A Norseman frame in the Noorduyn factory Cropped from the previous photo... |
|
 |
|
| Comparison showing components on the wreck and in the Norseman factory. |
|
 |
|
| Many thanks to Jim Corbett from Northumberland, UK for these photos! |
|
 |
|
| This wing strut fitting was (for me) one of the more noticeable features in the wreckage |
|
 |
|
 |
|
| 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 |