Comments on: Mystery Plane Crash

By: blue_eyed_marine1

blue_eyed_marine1 — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:02:07 +0000

Answer. KC-130F Crahed while I was assigned to 3rd MAW at camp Wilson, Support Co, Heavy Equipment Platoon. As I was a new “Journeyman” equipment operator it was up to me and another devil dog on a LRT 7 1/2 ton marine mobile crane to begin disassembly on the tail section. This was terrifying for me, as I have a fear of heights. Being in a “birdcage” at the horses head end of the boom 50 or so feet in the air with an impact wrench and a compressor scared the crap out of me. Luckily some civilian contractors were soon called to “help” us, and soon took over the process. Apparently, it was decided that it wasn’t worth the money or manhours to complete the project of pulling it all apart. And there is, or was at the time, a debris trail extending at least half a mile where the pilot belly landed with great skill and no serious injuries. Cool to see this online as I had totally forgotten about it.
Corporal James, Joshua H USMC

By: dr.R.

dr.R. — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:40:13 +0000

Someone thought this bit was ugly: Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

By: dav

dav — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 06:29:51 +0000

Those shacks ARE the improvements to the land that allowed homesteaders to purchase the land at very discounted prices. The minimum requirement for improvement was a 150sqft permanent structure. After this was built the homesteader could buy his 5 acre parcel for (I think) 50$

Lots of these shacks are still standing and some are in ok condition. Most of them were built in the 50s-60’s. I know, I have one.

By: michael

michael — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 01:07:16 +0000

The first one is flying and the second one is not a airplane it is a x on the run way.

By: Steve Scott

Steve Scott — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:36:54 +0000

The plane is a USMC KC-130F that crashed in Feb. of 2002. It lost its number-1 engine on takeoff from Twentynine Palms Airport to the southeast, then started to lose power to its number 4 engine as it tried to return. The pilot attempted to line it up with an old dirt runway nearby, but came up just a little short. He ended up having to land on some “unimproved desert.” Everyone pretty much walked away, but the old (about 40 years old as I recall) tanker was a write-off.

By: cousin

cousin — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 23:39:29 +0000

neet plane say tom would you at one time have been married to bonnie R???? do they use this plane for target practice????

By: Woodser

Woodser — Wed, 30 May 2007 04:18:44 +0000

It crashed on Feb 12, 2002 after loosing a few engines on take off.

So #15 Tom is the winner on this one.

Sorry it is NOT on a range and IS on the base.

Closer photos of this plane are here.
http://woodser.com/photoshow/29_Palms_C-130_Crash/index.html

By: carol

carol — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:21:10 +0000

The little abandoned shacks are the unimproved homestead shacks that were built by people in the 50’s, with the hope to be able to own the land if they continued to improve. These are the ones that didn’t.

By: Jim Atkins

Jim Atkins — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 06:17:41 +0000

Regarding the big aspirin near Twentynine Palms- it’s just a big water tank on a hill outside of town. It’s very visible from the road coming back from Amboy and Las Vegas. There are a lot of live-fire and assault exercises on the Air-Ground Training Center all the time- we hear artillery and bombing pretty often, and a lot of Marine aircraft shuttle between the expeditionary airfield and the helicopter fields at Camp Pendleton and MCAS Miramar.

By: ken

ken — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 02:52:30 +0000

what are all the little abandoned shacks along the road from Amboy to Twentynine Palms. There are 100’s of them. Some have people living in them but most don’t?