Parker Mountain Plane Crash Wreckage

In 1946 a twin-engine airplane crashed into the side of Parker Mountain in Strafford NH, killing all three people onboard. All these years later pieces of the plane still remain on the mountainside, and on a drizzly afternoon in 2016 I took Logan and a friend in search of the wreckage.

Occupants of the airplane were millionaire Leslie LeVeque, his wife Elsa, and pilot Robert Johns, all of Columbus Ohio. In addition to being a real estate investor and co-owner of the then tallest building in Columbus, the Lincoln Tower, Leslie was the inventor of the automatic pinsetter used in bowling alleys. The couple were returning from a weekend at their summer home in Blue Hill Missouri when, according to the Marysville Tribune of Ohio, a lack of visibility due to dense fog caused them to hit the mountain.

From researching the site I knew the wreckage was on the north face of the mountain, but unlike other crash sites there was no trail leading to it. At least none that we found. Nor were there any discrete little ribbons tied to trees that point the way, such as those at the Belknap crash site. But Parker isn't a very big mountain, so with a general idea of the location and a little bit of stumbling we were able to find what's left of the plane.

There's a feeling I get when hiking to one of these crash sites, at the moment the wreckage first comes into view, when reality hits that I'm witnessing a spot where something bad happened. The look on Logan's face when he first spotted a piece of the plane sums up that feeling perfectly.

I had read there were three large pieces on the mountain, however we were only able to find two of them. One was this twisted piece of metal here.

And the other was what looked to my non-aviational eye to be the front of the plane.

After visiting the crash site we made out way back to the main trail, which we followed to the top of the mountain. Along the way we found this rock sitting area and fire pit which, had I brought along my beer cooler I might even have taken full advantage of.

The summit of Parker Mountain isn't a full 360 view, and the clouds obscured what would have been a nice view in at least one direction, but none of that mattered on this day. It was a beautiful sight, and after my earlier thoughts about lives cut short I was able to appreciate this beauty all the much more.