# TWA Flight 8

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1938 aviation accident

[37°35′46.74″N 119°29′36.53″W / 37.5963167°N 119.4934806°W / 37.5963167; -119.4934806](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=TWA_Flight_8&params=37_35_46.74_N_119_29_36.53_W_region:US)

TWA Flight 8 A TWA DC-2, similar to the aircraft involved Accident Date March 1, 1938 Summary Controlled flight into terrain in severe weather Site Yosemite National Park, Madera County, near Wawona, California Aircraft Aircraft type Douglas DC-2 Operator Transcontinental & Western Air Registration NC13789 Flight origin San Francisco, California Destination Winslow, Arizona Occupants 9 Passengers 6 Crew 3 Fatalities 9 Survivors 0

The crash of **TWA Flight 8** involved a [Transcontinental & Western Air](/source/Trans_World_Airlines) [Douglas DC-2](/source/Douglas_DC-2). On March 1, 1938, during a scheduled [passenger flight](/source/Passenger_flight) from [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco%2C_California) to [Winslow, Arizona](/source/Winslow%2C_Arizona), TWA's interstate [hub](/source/Hub_airport), the flight encountered severe weather. The pilot [radioed](/source/Radio) his intention to land in nearby [Fresno](/source/Fresno%2C_California). The aircraft subsequently crashed on a mountain in [Yosemite National Park](/source/Yosemite_National_Park), and was found three months later.

## Flight

The aircraft was [TWA](/source/TWA) plane #327 AC-III,[1] NC13789,[2] a twin-engine [Douglas Aircraft Corporation](/source/Douglas_Aircraft_Corporation) DC-2-112 piloted by Captain John Graves, a former [Army Air Corps](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Corps) pilot who won some measure of fame in 1932 when he located and dropped food to a group of snowbound people in northern Arizona.[3] Crew members on board were the co-pilot, First Officer C. W. Wallace, and stewardess Martha Mae Wilson.

Flight 8 was flying from San Francisco to Winslow, which was a hub connecting TWA's transcontinental [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles%2C_California)-[New York](/source/New_York_City) route.[3] It departed San Francisco in conditions of good visibility, with a cloud ceiling between 6,000 and 7,000 feet (1,800 and 2,100 m),[3] and had sufficient fuel to last until midnight.[3] The accident report list the causes of the disaster as "a change in wind direction and a sharp increase in velocity, unknown to the pilot, together with the pilot's confusion as to his position with reference to the Fresno Radio Range station, which combined to bring about flight over mountainous terrain, ending in a crash at near his reported cruising altitude."[2]

## Disappearance

Two hours after takeoff, the flight encountered a building weather front that developed into the most severe storm on the West Coast in 64 years. As the flight neared the [Tehachapi Mountains](/source/Tehachapi_Mountains) near [Bakersfield, California](/source/Bakersfield%2C_California), Captain Graves noticed ice forming on the wings. He advised [air traffic controllers](/source/Air_traffic_controller), who ordered him to divert to [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles) due to the deteriorating weather conditions.[3] Graves replied that he planned to divert to nearby Fresno due to local weather. At 9:28 PM, he requested a weather update; this was his last transmission received by air traffic control.

## Search efforts

Officials based their search area on the reports of Mrs. C.G. Landry, who was operating the [Edison Electric Company](/source/Southern_California_Edison) power house on [Huntington Lake](/source/Huntington_Lake), approximately 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Fresno. She observed the plane at 9:29 PM flying along the [San Joaquin River](/source/San_Joaquin_River) at an altitude of 500 feet (150 m).[3] The search was concentrated in the snow-covered [Sierra Nevada mountains](/source/Sierra_Nevada_(U.S.)) to the east of Fresno.[3]

Severe storms that lingered throughout the week hampered searches for the missing aircraft. Pelting rain and heavy winds prevented the use of aircraft in the search, forcing searchers to rely on [automobiles](/source/Automobile), which were unsuited for the rugged mountain terrain. Harold Bromley, the Fresno inspector for the [Bureau of Air Commerce](/source/Civil_Aeronautics_Board#History), told reporters that the "visibility in the Fresno area was practically zero" as a result of the downpour.[3]

The general search involved both TWA and government officials, who drove to Fresno from San Francisco and Los Angeles to aid in the search.[3] As days passed, Transcontinental & Western Air grew increasingly desperate to find the aircraft, and eventually offered a $1,000 reward (equivalent to $22,872 in 2025) to anyone who could locate the aircraft.

### Hoax call

On March 2, 1938, the day after the flight's disappearance, Transcontinental & Western Air headquarters told reporters that it had received a message purporting to be from [United Airlines](/source/United_Airlines) offices in Fresno, which claimed that the missing aircraft had been found. The telephoned message said that the plane had been found approximately 20 miles from Fresno with "several passengers injured but everybody alive," as later reported in the *Ogden Standard Examiner*.[3]

Upon investigation, however, the message turned out to be a hoax; the plane had not been found. An outraged TWA spokesman denounced the message as "one of the cruelest hoaxes ever perpetrated."[3] Officials at United Airlines offices in both Fresno and San Francisco denied that their employees had been the ones to call in the hoax.

### Discovery

Three months after the crash, the aircraft had still not been located. A private citizen, 23-year-old H.O. Collier of Fresno, began a personal search for the missing plane after interviewing numerous TWA personnel and studying charts of the flight path. In early June, Collier hiked into the snowy terrain northeast of [Wawona, California](/source/Wawona%2C_California), and discovered the wreckage of the aircraft on June 12, 1938. The crash site was located 32 miles (51 km) northwest of the area searched by investigators.

The aircraft was partially buried in the snow of Buena Vista Crest, within Yosemite National Park. Eight bodies out of 9 occupants were thrown from the plane. Only the body of stewardess Wilson was trapped in the wreckage.

Investigators speculated that the aircraft had been blown off course while attempting to divert to Fresno, and had subsequently lost [radio contact](/source/Radio_contact). It appeared that the plane had sheared off the tops of pine trees while in a steep bank and crashed into the mountain 200 feet (61 m) below the summit.

Seventy-one years later, Bob Hoskin of Redlands, California discovered a collection of artifacts from the crash in a cedar chest at a yard sale. It included a collection of original crash scene photos, letters from family members & TWA Officials, the TWA $1,000.00 reward check stub, First Officer Salisbury's pilot cap, a detailed manuscript written by Collier himself about how he found the plane, and several rejection letters regarding his composition.[4]

## Investigation

On June 13, 1938, after the discovery of the crash site of Flight 8, [Daniel C. Roper](/source/Daniel_C._Roper), the [Secretary of Commerce](/source/Secretary_of_Commerce), named a special board to investigate the crash.[3] As the members of the inquisitorial board made their way cross-country from [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), the [coroner](/source/Coroner) ruled that the cause of death of the victims of the flight was "[accidental](/source/Accidental_death)."[3]

## See also

- [List of accidents and incidents involving airliners in the United States](/source/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_airliners_in_the_United_States)

- [Trans World Airlines](/source/Trans_World_Airlines)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** "INCIDENT FILES, Box 133, Accident – March 1, 1938 #1 Fresno, CA – Plane #327 AC-III". *TWA Museum Archives 1929-2002, K0453*. THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI RESEARCH CENTER-KANSAS CITY.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ASN_Database_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ASN_Database_2-1) [ASN Database](http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19380301-0)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-11) [***m***](#cite_ref-ogden_3-12) Beitler, Stu (May 13, 2009). ["Yosemite National Park, CA Airliner Crash, Mar 1938"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120302173933/http://www3.gendisasters.com/california/12691/yosemite-national-park-ca-airliner-crash-mar-1938). *Gendisasters*. Archived from [the original](https://www.gendisasters.com/california/12691/yosemite-national-park-ca-airliner-crash-mar-1938) on March 2, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Hernandez, Kristina (January 5, 2014). ["Redlands man's collection documents 1938 TWA plane crash in Yosemite"](http://www.sbsun.com/2014/01/05/redlands-mans-collection-documents-1938-twa-plane-crash-in-yosemite). *The Sun*. Retrieved March 30, 2021.

## External links

- [Video footage](http://www.efootage.com/stock-footage/61518/1938381930sThirtiestwinengineTWADouglas) of recovery efforts, [eFootage.com](http://www.efootage.com/), Accessed: May 24, 2009.

- [Photo of actual aircraft](https://www.flickr.com/photos/twa1049g/12408677613/) at TWA Chicago hangar circa 1934.

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1938 (1938) Jan 10 Northwest Airlines Flight 2 Jan 11 Samoan Clipper Feb 6 SSSR-V6 Osoaviakhim Mar 1 TWA Flight 8 Jul 24 Santa Ana air show disaster Jul 28 Pan Am Flight 229 Aug 6 USSR-B10 crash Aug 24 Kweilin incident Aug 24 Tokyo mid-air collision Sep 4 Royal Air Force Hawker Audax crash Oct 25 Kyeema crash Nov 4 Jersey Airport disaster 1937 ◄ ► 1939

v t e Yosemite National Park Attractions Yosemite Valley Yosemite Village Hetch Hetchy Glacier Point Badger Pass Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Tuolumne Meadows Tioga Pass Wawona Tree Chilnualna Falls Valley attractions Half Dome Yosemite Falls El Capitan Films: El Capitan, The Dawn Wall, Free Solo, To the Limit Bridalveil Fall Happy Isles Mirror Lake North Dome Vernal Fall Nevada Fall Little Yosemite Valley LeConte Lodge Bracebridge Dinner Yosemite Firefall Yosemite Valley Chapel Hiking trails John Muir Trail Mist Trail Panorama Trail McGurk Meadow Ostrander Lake Taft Point Sentinel Dome Alder Creek Mariposa Grove Wapama Falls Lembert Dome Rock climbs Fairview Dome, North Face Half Dome, Northwest Face Lost Arrow Spire Midnight Lightning Royal Arches Route Salathé Wall (El Capitan) Steck-Salathé Route (Sentinel Rock) Separate Reality The Nose (El Capitan) People John Muir Stephen T. Mather Galen Clark Shelton Johnson Buffalo Soldiers Chief Tenaya Ahwahnechee people Lodging and camping Yosemite Lodge at the Falls The Ahwahnee Curry Village Wawona Hotel Housekeeping Camp High Sierra Camps Camp 4 Natural disasters 1938 Yosemite TWA crash 1996 Yosemite Valley landslide 1997 Merced River flood 2013 Rim Wildfire 2022 Washburn Wildfire Transportation Nearby airports FAT RMY MMH YARTS Route 140 Route 41 Route 120 Nearby municipalities Foresta El Portal & Arch Rock Entrance Yosemite West & Chinquapin Wawona Bootjack Mariposa Briceburg Oakhurst Midpines Lee Vining Additional information History of the Yosemite area Geology of the Yosemite area List of historic places List of waterfalls Yosemite Category California Portal

v t e Trans World Airlines History Accidents and incidents 1931 Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 crash Flight 6 (1935) Flight 1 (1936) Flight 15A (1937) 1938 Yosemite TWA crash Flight 3 (1942) Flight 277 (1944) Flight 513 (1946) Flight 6963 (1946) Flight 903 (1950) 1955 Cincinnati mid-air collision Flight 260 (1955) Flight 400 (1956) 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision Flight 891 (1959) 1960 New York mid-air collision Flight 529 (1961) Flight 800 (1964) 1965 Carmel mid-air collision Flight 553 (1967) Flight 159 (1967) Flight 128 (1967) TWA Flight 840 hijacking (1969) Dawson's Field hijackings (1970) Flight 742 (1973) Flight 841 (1974) Flight 514 (1974) Flight 37 (1975) Flight 355 (1976) Flight 541 (1978) Flight 841 (1979) Flight 847 (1985) Flight 840 bombing (1986) Flight 843 (1992) Flight 427 (1994) Flight 800 (1996) Services Destinations Corporate affairs Trans World Connection Trans World Express This list is incomplete

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1930s 1931 Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 crash (March) 1933 USS Akron (April) United Air Lines Flight 23 (October) 1934 United Air Lines Boeing 247 crash (February) 1935 USS Macon (ZRS-5) (February) TWA Flight 6 (May) United Air Lines Flight 4 (October) 1936 American Airlines Flight 1 (January) TWA Flight 1 (April) Chicago and Southern Air Lines Flight 4 (August) United Air Lines Flight 34 (December) 1937 Western Air Express Flight 7 (January) Hindenburg disaster (May) 1938 Northwest Airlines Flight 2 (January 10) Samoan Clipper (January 11)* TWA Flight 8 (March) 1939 Northwest Airlines Flight 1 (January) This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [TWA Flight 8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_8) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_8?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.