Pueblo Mountains B-24D Crash

Harney County, OR

On the evening of January 9, 1945, a rancher in Eastern Oregon watched a bomber flying low over the Pueblo Mountains. The skies were clear and he followed the plane as it turned, narrowly avoiding one of the peaks. The pilot wasn’t able to regain the altitude he lost in the maneuver. It dipped behind the mountains, and a few seconds later there was a flash followed by smoke.

The rancher woke his neighbor in the nearby town of Denio, and together the two saddled horses and rode out into the mountains. In deep snow and total darkness they weren’t able to reach the crash site until morning. When they did they found only bodies. All eleven men aboard the plane had been killed instantly when it crashed.

The flight was a Consolidated B-24D Liberator, serial number 42-40427, on a training flight from Boise, Idaho to Hamilton Field in California. What happened to cause the crash is still a mystery. The Air Force’s investigation showed no sign of any mechanical failure, and none of the flight crew were strapped into parachutes as they would have been if there was a warning something was wrong.

The crash site is located in one of the most remote parts of Oregon, but it’s reachable for anyone willing to make the journey. It’s located just south of Steens Mountain, miles from the nearest paved road. A high-clearance 4WD vehicle is a must, and even then the last half mile or so can only be reached by foot. The bomber’s fuselage was removed by the Air Force and some parts have been stolen since then, but what remains of the wreckage has been left as a war memorial. The scattered debris and melted aluminum show the intensity of the crash. It’s a glimpse into a tragedy that will never have an answer.

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# Posted on September 25, 2019 by Marc Charbonneau.