Illinois man who parachuted out of plane visits 1946 crash site

[Ptah]

Illinois man who parachuted out of plane visits 1946 crash site

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MT_CRASH_SURVIVOR_MTOL-?SITE=MTKAL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

By TAHLIA GANSER
Livingston Enterprise

WILSALL (AP) -- Frank Avry is a legend in Wilsall.

About 30 miles east of the small town, up the Shields River and a steep
shale hike up Lobo Peak still lies the remnants of a mysterious old plane wreck.

His story is foggy in Wilsall, as most folklore becomes after years of being retold.

Some current residents thought there were no survivors of the 1946 crash,
some thought there were two.

Recently, the only survivor of the plane wreck, Frank Avry, set the record straight
while visiting the place he parachuted out to safety moments before the plane crashed
into Lobo Peak, killing the six other airmen on board.


I found this to be a fascinating story.

:hi:

[petronius]

1. Damn - that's quite a survival tale... Pretty lucky guy!

Plane crash sites are pretty spooky - there are a lot of them in the mountains of CA, and I've hiked past them before. A field of rusted, twisted metal in an otherwise pristine forest is pretty melancholy, to say the least. It's not uncommon out here for people to come across previously unknown crash-sites, many dating back to the 40s...