Elephant Mountain B52 Crash Remains

Once a year our family makes the 4-1/2 hour drive from the Seacoast of New Hampshire to Moosehead Lake in Maine, where Tina's mother and husband spend each summer. The lake is beautiful and our time is spent hiking, kayaking, and exploring in a whirlwind of fun throughout the never long enough time we're there.

A few years back we were told of a site on Elephant Mountain, perhaps 15 minutes from where we were staying, where a B-52 had crashed into the mountainside back in 1963. Extreme turbulence had snapped the vertical stabilizer of the plane causing it to crash into several feet of snow, with only three men being able to eject. Interestingly enough, one of the men who ejected landed on the ground before his parachute had time to deploy, but because he landed in such deep snow he survived the non-parachute landing, the only person ever to do so. Nine people in total were aboard the plane, but between going down in the crash and huddling through the night in extreme cold only two survived by the time a rescue helicopter found and retrieved them the next day.

The property is owned by the Plum Creek Timber Company and they have opened the crash site for public viewing. It is maintained by the Moosehead Riders snowmobile club who hold annual rides to honor the victims. On the day we went there were perhaps 20 people walking around viewing the wreckage, which is spread over a large area of hillside.

This was the first plane crash site I had visited and a real eye opener as to the devastation they cause. In my mind I had pictured, perhaps naively, that the carcass of the place would be relatively intact and maybe I'd even be able walk into it. Some crash sites might look like that, but no such thing here - this nearly 200' long bomber had been reduced to an absolute scattering of shredded and crumpled metal. One piece that did look big enough to crawl into was apparently used by the survivors as a shelter during their night on the mountain.

Some of the wreckage has been removed from the site, although no more is allowed to be taken as it's officially been deemed a "no salvage" area. In fact, some of the wreckage that had been hauled away was actually brought back.

We came across one of the original four sets of wheels. They were warped but still relatively intact. A second set of wheels that broke apart was further in the woods.

Pretty much wherever I turned there were more pieces of wreckage, both large and small. I found myself going through a range of emotions that afternoon; from my initial chills, to amazement, curiosity, then almost a desensitization from having seen so much devastation. Processing what I had seen ended up taking a lot longer than the time I spent actually viewing it.

This is a very well maintained and respectable site, with various plaques and signs informing you of the tragedy and the men involved. There is very little walking to reach the site from the parking area, the bigger difficulty is in making the long drive to get to Elephant Mountain in the first place. But if you ever have the urge to visit a plane crash memorial and pay your respects, this would be first on my list of recommendations.