Page 5 - spring 2019

Friends oF red rock canyon 5
Sharon’s Slant
n November 17,
1955 a military
O air transport
plane crashed on Mt.
Charleston; all 14 men
onboard perished. But
it wasn’t until 1998 that
the official truth about
the plane and its pas-
sengers was revealed
to be part of the top
secret U-2 spy plane
project. Investigative
reporter Kyril Plaskon’s
“Silent Heroes of the
Cold War” honors the
sacrifice they made to keep our nation safe
and secure during a very troubling time.
The flight originated in Burbank, Cali-
fornia from the Lockheed Air Terminal,
destination “Watertown.” The C-54 had
a long, safe history, as did Air Force pilot
George Pappas. To maintain secrecy, the
plane had to fly low with radio silence; as
a result, the pilots were unaware that one
of the worst storms on record was right
behind their flight. Immediately after the
plane crashed into 11,916 foot-high Mt.
Charleston, the military sealed the only
road leading to the crash site.
The weather in the area was so severe
that the Air Force team sent in to reach the
wreckage couldn’t make it, so locals were
called in to help. The Sheriff’s Mounted
Posse with volunteers and 17 horses
reached the crash site three days later.
When they arrived, the posse had to wait
until the Air Force crew went ahead to
check for classified materials. Getting the
bodies down the mountain took nine hours
through deep snow and cold, windy condi-
tions. The members of the posse were told
By Sharon Schaaf
to talk to no one about what they saw and
did that day.
The Air Force report on the crash is 157
pages long and blamed the pilot for be-
coming “disoriented.” However, a closer
look shows more: A lack of accurate, up-
to-date weather reports; a new flight path
that should not have been used; and poor
communications in the area. Secrecy was
more important than safety, and many
changes were implemented as a result. To
cover-up the crash, the Air Force contact-
ed local demolition crews from Nellis and
Lake Mead. The engines were removed
by teams of horses and the rest was blown
into thousands of pieces.
Las Vegas resident Steve Ririe was one
of the many Boy Scouts who hiked to Mt.
Charleston and saw pieces of USAF 9068’s
wreckage. Getting information about the
crash became an obsession for him as an
adult. His investigation finally led him to
the CIA which told him that all the infor-
mation about the U-2 project had been
declassified in 1998. Steve requested a
copy of the report and then set out to con-
tact the victims’ families, opening wounds
for some and bringing comfort to others.
On August 4, 2001 Steve led a hike to the
site for family members.
The second half of the book contains
profiles of the five CIA security personnel,
five members of the Air Force, two Lock-
heed engineers and two Hycon Manufac-
turing employees who lost their lives in
1955 and the Lockheed mechanic who
missed the flight that morning.
The book is available in the Elements
Gift and Book Store in the Red Rock Can-
yon Visitor Center and on Amazon.
Spring 2019