A lot has been said about Frontier’s “Suicidal DC-3” N-65276. Now, there’s even more to say. Like Paul Harvey says: “And now for The Rest-Of-The-Story!”
Some time ago, Ron Rosenhan and I were visiting with our mutual friend, Larry Perkins. Larry, a retired America West captain, reports to Ron at the FAA in Scottsdale, AZ. Larry and I used to fly Puff The Magic Dragon (DC-3C / AC-47 Gunship) together out of Falcon Field, Mesa, AZ (FFZ).
I had told Larry about the story of the ill fated Frontier DC-3 (N-65276), and when, in 1957, Dale Welling flew this aircraft into a stuffed cloud north of Phoenix leaving 12’ of wing and aileron on the mountain side before landing, with no injuries, at PHX Sky Harbor. The original aileron itself is 26 feet long which explains Welling’s ability to control the airplane with only 14’ of aileron left after
Earlier, Boyd Stevens and I had talked of trying to locate the site. George Graham and I actually flew over some potential locations. Later, Ron and I discussed our mutual desire of one day finding the wing/aileron ruminants and presenting it to the Museum of the Rockies for their Frontier Airlines exhibit. We had many discussions with some of the fellows who were PHX based DC-3 pilots then. Ace, EP, Brad and others were aware of the approximate location. Some even remembered seeing the wreckage on the side of the mountain slope.
Many years ago Ron Rosenhahn was flying the same route with Jed Mackenroth in a DC-3. Jed pointed out the site
which Ron remembers seeing the wing piece still there.
So, we had hopes it might still be there nearly 50 years later. Larry Perkins is a premier pilot of all types including
helicopters. In his pristine C-172 tail-dragger, Larry and his aviatrix wife, Peggy, made several search flights as well as
flying the helicopter with Ron around suspected sites. All on board were eye searching for this very remote and difficult
to see site.
Ace and EP gave some hints as to some possible coordinates to focus on. It is in very rough terrain and nearly
inaccessible from the ground.
Yesterday, I was informed by Ron that the aileron was in his office and soon the rest of the wing portion would be as
well. A sincere “Thank You” is due to Ron and his FAA team of Larry Perkins along with others from the SDL FISDO for
this erstwhile effort.
Spotting the wing, Larry had to do some fancy flying to nudge a skid along side the wreckage so that one of his FAA
collogues could step out on the skid to retrieve the remaining aileron portion. They were unable to acquire the
remaining portion on that try. Soon, another attempt to recover the remaining will be made.
KUDOS to Ron, Larry and their team. This acquisition will make for a most interesting conversation piece to add to the
legendary history of our late great airline. We hope to present this to the museum one of these days and will make
sure you all are aware of when. The newly discovered wing portion is all that remains from the “Suicidal DC-3.”
Blue Skies & Tailwinds…
-Billy Walker
(12/17/04)
Hi Ace,
Greetings from a rather cool spot at CYYG! You prolly flew here in the summertime. I am reminded how cold the
wintertime layovers were up here.
Note the message from Larry Perkins as to how and who this adventure should be credited to. Larry doesn't give
himself any credit, but a majority is due himself along with that of Ron Rosenhahn.
The retrieved aileron is 6 feet long out of a total aileron length of 26 feet. However, 12 feet of the wing itself was left
on the mountain side. I know the DC-3 aileron is 26 feet in length because we recently recovered those on "Puff."
Soon, Larry will go back with the helicopter to recover the remainder of the wing portion which will need a little
surgery. Smackin' into a granite rockpile at over 100 kts didn't help the cosmetics of that ol' wing...
Brad Hurd reminded me of the story about Barry Goldwater honoring Dale for his airmanship. This made it rather
difficult for Elmer to fire him for his "airmanship."
Bert Wrasse who, as you know, was a brand new co-pilot never would discuss the incident.
Blue Skies & Happy Holidays...
-Billy Walker
(12/18/04)
Hi Captain Billy,
My notes for the meeting follow:
1) Several members of our FSDO have participated in the location and recovery of the wing parts to donate them to
the Frontier Airlines Museum as a Scottsdale FSDO member project, not an official office project, but an office member
project.
a) Dave Baron help with charts, maps and GPS programming and volunteering to search and to help with recovery if
and when it is ever found;
b) Mike Halloran reports of reflected light on a mountain and volunteering to help with recovery if and when it is
ever found;
c) Will Willbanks for his expert searching techniques, sharp eye and volunteering to help with recovery if and when
it is ever found;
d) Gary Martin for volunteering to search and to help with recovery if and when it is ever found; and
e) My wife, Peg, who searched 1.8 hours on September 10th, until she had done enough circles around mountain
peaks to last her a long time, and another half hour search on November 27th
This was not, and could not be an FAA project, only a project by members of the FSDO.
Your friend,
-Larry
(2/19/04)
Very good, Billy.
I was wondering if my instructions to Ron re the whereabouts of the wing section was any help in
locating same. I was under the impression, the wing tip loss was just before the aileron...if it was any more that the
aileron would have gone with it and controlabilty would have been questionable (???)
Best Wishes,
-Ace Avakian
(12/17/04)
We'll not only have photos, but we'll have the wreckage on display at the Museum of the Rockies one day...
When you add the story, please add the addendum explaining that it was FAA folks working at their own expense and
on their own time to recover this fascinatin' artifact...
As Ron's team completes the recovery process, we will also send out an update as well as our efforts to properly
display the wing pieces.
I too have always been amazed that the airplane could have been flyable after leaving some 10 to 12 feet of wing and
aileron on a mountain top. However, luck played a big role that fateful day.
The wedge shaped rock that the wing struck sheared the wing just outside the aileron control rod and attachment
point. Any closer or a flat granite formation, and it would have meant certain death to all. It helped that the DC-3 wing
had an aileron that was 26' long.
We are still hopeful someone out there in Frontier cyber-space will have some photos from this historical event. Jake
had some copies of clippings, but we need glossy photos for reproduction for a magazine story.
Blue Skies & Tailwinds...
-Billy Walker
(12/21/04)
Help!
If any of you possess or have knowledge of any actual photographs of The FAL DC-3 (N-65276) we sure could use them
for a magazine story about the fateful flight from Prescott to Phoenix in 1957 when the aircraft struck a mountain north
of Phoenix leaving some 10-12 feet of wing AND aileron on the mountain top.
I will return your photos after scanning for the article. Many of you know that Captain Ron Rosenhahn (FAL Ret,) is
now with the FAA at the Scottsdale FISDO office. Ron is the supervisor of an extraordinary group. They volunteered
their time and efforts in locating this elusive aviation historical artifact. In fact, they recovered one 5-6 foot section of
the aileron. The plan is to return to the site to recover the remaining wing and aileron portions.
Note: The DC-3 has a 26 foot aileron. With 6 feet or so missing outside the control link and other attachment points,
there was enough for control of the airplane which landed safely at Phoenix shortly after the impact. Thank you for any
efforts to help in this erstwhile project.
Blue Skies & Tailwinds...
-Billy Walker
(1/26/05)
Sometime ago someone asked if there were any actual photos of Captain Welling's DC-3 showing the damage to the
wing. I just remembered that Ed Pellerin (sp) had two 8 X 10 glossies that he got from the Douglas people when they
examined the plane in Phoenix. Ed was a top mechanic for FAL at the time.
He gave those photos to his son whose name was Phil (I think) and he in turn loaned them to us agents in the ABQ
station to add to our neat little Frontier Museum in the employee's lounge next to the operations office. Those photos
were remarkably sharp and showed the extent of the damage. We were always amazed that the plane could fly with
that much wing gone. If someone knows where Phil Pellerin is, he might be able to help with the photo request.
Good luck,
-Mac McElhaney
(2/21/05)
This nice summary by Ron is from Rick Broome's website.
On April 21, 1957 at 1321 hours a lone DC-3 operating as Frontier Airlines flight seven departed Prescott, Arizona
under visual flight rules enroute to Phoenix, Arizona. On board the flight were twenty-one passengers and a crew of
three. As the flight proceeded southbound toward Phoenix the weather deteriorated to a point where the flight could no
longer maintain visual flight rules and remain clear of clouds. The captain of the flight requested and received an
instrument flight rules clearance to proceed to Phoenix via Knob intersection to the Phoenix omni range to maintain
7000 feet. The crew never acknowledged receiving the clearance.
Frontier Airlines flight seven struck the west ridge of a mountain at the 4500’ level and sheared off twelve feet of the
left wing and aileron. After declaring an emergency, flight seven landed at the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport without
further incident.
This incident went into the history books testifying to the strength and durability of the DC-3 aircraft as perhaps the
greatest passenger airliner ever built. Over the years artist’s conceptions of the collision with the mountain appeared on
the cover of famous magazines of the time and most all historical books written on the history of the DC-3 contain the
story of “Welling’s Wing”.
The broken off portion of the wing remained on the mountain in a very remote area undisturbed for nearly forty-seven
years untouched.
In June of 2004 former Frontier Airlines Captain’s Billy Walker and Ron Rosenhahn (now an aviation safety inspector
supervisor with the Federal Aviation Administration), were having a discussion with former America West Captain Larry
Perkins (now an aviation safety inspector also with the FAA). The discussion centered on Welling’s Wing and the “
Museum of the Rockies” which has an exhibit in honor of the old Frontier Airlines. It was discussed if it was feasible to
relocate the resting place of the old wing section, recover it and donate it to the museum in honor of the pilots who
flew for the old Frontier Airlines.
It all started with Rosenhahn And Perkins studying old charts and descriptions of where the location of the wing was
according to the recollection of former Frontier pilots who were based at the Phoenix domicile at the time of the
incident. Coordinates were developed from these descriptions and entered into GPS. The search dragged on, days into
weeks; weeks into months but the location of the wing eluded us. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
First it was Larry Perkins and his wife Peggy, an aviatrix in her own right searching in their personal aircraft. As they
made several hundred turns around the mountain looking for the wing it seemed impossible. Then it was Perkins and
Rosenhahn, still no wing. Other FAA inspectors joined in the search, still nothing.
Then a break came. FAA inspector
Mike Halloran who had decided to search the area on foot with his binoculars saw a glint of what he though was the
sun shining on metal high up on the mountain. FAA inspector Dave Baron joined the search helping with mapping, chart
plotting and GPS programming. Dave also volunteered with the recovery efforts if the wing was ever found.
And then
another clue showed up. In a description of the location sent in from former Frontier Senior Captain E. P. Lietz, he
mentioned that the wing bounced over the top of the mountain and down the other side. Could it be we were looking
on the right mountain but the wrong side?
Everything seemed to be lining up into one possible location, Mike Halloran’s visual sighting of a glint of metal. Former
Senior Captain Ace Aviakan’s description of a southeasterly heading from over the ghost town of Bumble Bee, and
finally E. P. Lietz’s description of the wing bouncing over the top of the mountain and down the other side.
Larry Perkins together with FAA inspector Will Willbanks, a former DEA pilot turned FAA inspector, (Will had now joined
the search) and FAA inspector Gary Martin proceeded to the search area with Larry doing the flying and Will and Gary
looking for the wing. On the second turn around the GPS position Will Willbanks saw something near some bushes.
As Larry turned the aircraft around the lost wing appeared at twelve O’clock. Welling’s Wing had been found at last.
Since locating the position of the sheared off wing, a six foot section of the left aileron has been recovered by inspector
Gary Martin and presented to Ron Rosenhahn.
Realizing the historical significance of this piece of aviation history several FAA inspectors from the SDL FSDO joined
the search donating their time and resources to help locate the wing, and they found it. The wing will be preserved for
all time in the Museum of the Rockies located in Denver, Colorado.
The historical significance of this find represents a
part of aviation history in an era that has long gone by. For those of us who flew the DC-3 for the old Frontier Airlines it
represents much more. It represents an era of flight that we lived.
Plans are being made to recover the rest of the wing at a future date.
Ronald J Rosenhahn
(3/1/05)
THE RECOVERY OF WELLING’S WING
By: Ronald J Rosenhahn
(5/7/05)
On April 21, 1957 at 1321 hours a lone DC-3 operating as Frontier Airlines flight seven departed Prescott, Arizona under visual flight rules enroute to Phoenix, Arizona. On board the flight were twenty-one passengers and a crew of three. As the flight proceeded southbound toward Phoenix the weather deteriorated to a point where the flight could no longer maintain visual flight rules and remain clear of clouds. The captain of the flight requested and received an instrument flight rules clearance to proceed to Phoenix via Knob intersection to the Phoenix omni range to maintain 7000 feet. The crew never acknowledged receiving the clearance.
Frontier Airlines flight seven struck the west ridge of a mountain at the 4500’ level and sheared off twelve feet of the left wing and six feet of the left aileron. After declaring an emergency, flight seven landed at the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport without further incident.
This incident went into the history books testifying to the strength and durability of the DC-3 aircraft as perhaps the greatest passenger airliner ever built. Over the years artist’s conceptions of the collision with the mountain appeared on the cover of famous magazines of the time and most all historical books written on the history of the DC-3 contain the story of “Welling’s Wing”.
The broken off portion of the wing remained on the mountain in a very remote area undisturbed for nearly forty-eight years untouched.
In June of 2004 former Frontier Airlines Captain’s Billy Walker and Ron Rosenhahn (now an aviation safety inspector supervisor with the Federal Aviation Administration), were having a discussion with former America West Captain Larry Perkins (now an aviation safety inspector also with the FAA). The discussion centered on Welling’s Wing and the “ Museum of the Rockies” which has an exhibit in honor of the old Frontier Airlines. It was discussed if it was feasible to relocate the resting place of the old wing section, recover it and donate it to the museum in honor of the pilots who flew for the old Frontier Airlines.
It all started with Rosenhahn and Perkins studying old charts and descriptions of where the location of the wing was according to the recollection of former Frontier pilots who were based in the Phoenix domicile at the time of the incident. Coordinates were developed from these descriptions and entered into GPS. The search dragged on, days into weeks; weeks into months but the location of the wing eluded us. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
First it was Larry Perkins and his wife Peggy, an aviatrix in her own right searching in their personal aircraft. As they made several hundred turns around the mountain looking for the wing it seemed impossible. Then it was Perkins and Rosenhahn, still no wing. Other FAA inspectors joined in the search, still nothing. Then a break came. FAA inspector Mike Halloran who had decided to search the area on foot with his binoculars saw a glint of what he though was the sun shining on metal high up on the mountain. FAA inspector Dave Baron joined the search helping with mapping, chart plotting and GPS programming. Dave also volunteered with the recovery efforts if the wing was ever found. And then another clue showed up. In a description of the location sent in from former Frontier Senior Captain E. P. Lietz, he mentioned that the wing bounced over the top of the mountain and down the other side. Could it be we were looking on the right mountain but the wrong side?
Everything seemed to be lining up into one possible location; Mike Halloran’s visual sighting of a glint of metal. Former Senior Captain Ace Aviakan’s description of a southeasterly heading from over the ghost town of Bumble Bee, and finally Captain E. P. Lietz’s description of the wing bouncing over the top of the mountain and down the other side.
Larry Perkins together with FAA inspector Will Willbanks, a former customs pilot turned FAA inspector, (Will had now joined the search) and FAA inspector Gary Martin proceeded to the search area with Larry doing the flying and Will and Gary looking for the wing. On the second turn around the GPS position Will Willbanks saw something near some bushes.
As Larry turned the aircraft the lost wing appeared at twelve O’clock. Welling’s Wing had been found at last.
Since locating the position of the sheared off wing, a five foot section of the left aileron has been recovered and presented to Ron Rosenhahn
Realizing the historical significance of this piece of aviation history several FAA inspectors from the SDL FSDO joined the search donating their time and resources to help locate the wing, and they found it. The wing will be preserved for all time in the Museum of the Rockies located in Denver, Colorado. The historical significance of this find represents a part of aviation history in an era that has long gone by. For those of us who flew the DC-3 for the old Frontier Airlines it represents much more. It represents an era of flight that we lived.
On February 26, 2005 FAA inspectors Mike Halloran and Dave Baron attempted a climb to the top of the mountain up the south face. Due to heavy rains the New River was swollen and too deep to cross, forcing Halloran and Baron to attempt the climb from a less favorable vantage point. The terrain was steep, and extremely rough and rugged. This attempt failed.
On March 14, 2005 with the New River receding, a second attempt to scale the mountain from a more favorable vantage point was initiated. This time with perseverance and their objective in mind, Inspector’s Halloran and Baron made it to the top of the mountain and the sheared off pieces of the DC-3 wing. The distance covered was three tens of a mile from the bottom of the mountain to the top. It took three and a half hours to reach the top.
The wing pieces were assembled in a common location for a long line pickup by a helicopter.
On March 30, 2005, Jeff Boatman of Air West Helicopters and Mike Halloran did a long line recovery of the final pieces of Welling’s Wing, which had been on the mountaintop for more than forty-eight years. The remaining pieces were dropped along side Ron Rosenhahn’s pickup truck with Dave Baron and Ron Rosenhahn standing by to load the remainder of the wing pieces aboard Ron’s pickup.
Exactly ten months to the day have passed since former Frontier Airline Captains Billy Walker And Ron Rosenhahn had originally discussed the feasibility of finding and recovering Welling’s Wing.
Without the participation of the FAA inspectors of the Scottsdale Flight Standards District Office who dedicated their own time and resources to this project, the recovery of Welling’s Wing would never have been possible.
The names of the inspectors who donated their time and efforts are Larry Perkins, Will Willbanks, Gary Martin, Mike Halloran, and Dave Baron.
Also deserving of special recognition for an excellent recovery of Welling’s Wing is Jeff Boatman of Airwest Helicopters.
