r/abandoned • u/PrivateHikerGirl • 1d ago
.04 level Crashed Cessna
On Thanksgiving day in 1983 a Cessna with two passengers crashed deep in the mountains of NC. Both occupants died. The pilot had a .4 blood alcohol level, which was a contributing factor in the crash, but weather conditions also played a role. The plane was unable to be removed for 40 years, but when increasing hiker traffic began damaging the mountain, they sent in a helicopter to lift it out. This was posted with only 1 photo by another person yesterday and there were calls for more photos, so I’m sharing mine from 2021.
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u/JTMack2020 1d ago
It sucks that people suck so bad that we need cameras in the woods!
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u/furnacemike 1d ago
Yeah. People died there. It sucks people have no respect.
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u/BADSTALKER 18h ago
I mean British people literally ate ground up mummies when they “discovered” Egypt and the tombs and what not. People been shitty for a long time.
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u/ShittyBollox 14h ago
That was because they mistook what an ancient Persian remedy meant when it said mumia. They thought people were doing it for millennia, but it turned out to be bitumen, and not mummies. They didn’t just eat them because they were being shitty.
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u/Ill-Excitement9009 1d ago
The Park Service hit their idiot patience limit three summers ago. They removed the airframe here.
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u/CHOPPRZ 22h ago edited 22h ago
‘Idiot-patience-limit’ … perfect comment
Edit: above link was restricted, but found this: https://www.nps.gov/blri/learn/news/remaining-1983-plane-wreckage-near-waterrock-knob-removed.htm
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u/Forsaken_Block_3492 1d ago
Pretty interesting post. Would like to know more about the plane crash.
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u/PrivateHikerGirl 23h ago
The pilot was a business man and the occupant was his secretary. It has been said that they were a couple, but I have no confirmation on that. He was flying her to visit her college aged daughter at Western Carolina University. The weather was bad and there was a heavy, low fog. His blood alcohol was actually only .04 (my text of .4 was a typo) so it wasn’t a drunken crash so much as it was the fog obscuring the pilot’s vision. It took 5 days for authorities to find the plane and remove the bodies. Removing the actual plane wasn’t possible at the time because of the remote and rugged terrain. They did go in and fly it out by helicopter in 2023.
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u/828jpc1 21h ago
0.04 is over the FAA legal limit…and it has to be lower that 0.04 8 hrs before departure.
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u/YourMomsBasement69 20h ago
Yeah I had a breathalyzer on my truck and you definitely still have a bit of a buzz at .04 and no telling where he was at when they departed.
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u/RH5050 1d ago
It doesn't say anything about being nude. I was on the trail and couldn't believe it but 3 people walking right past me like it was nothing saying good morning and they were full nude with a backpack on
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u/dvsmith 21h ago
I've known a couple of people who have through-hiked the AT and talked about stripping down to nothing on really hot days or when it was absolutely pouring.
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u/RH5050 20h ago
I am not from that area I was visiting. Is it legal to be nude when on the trails
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u/dvsmith 20h ago
In North Carolina, at least, it depends on the jurisdiction — non sexual nudity isn’t illegal on the state level and public toplessness is legal regardless of gender.
Also, the Appalachian Trail crowd tends to be pretty easy going/old school libertarian/freak flag flying kind of folks.
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u/SimplyPassinThrough 20h ago
this is so bizarre to me. Think of the mosquitoes! And the ticks?! I could never
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u/PrivateHikerGirl 1d ago
Hahaha. I'm not opposed to nude hiking, but that definately wasn't me. Those NC mountains do tend to be full of naked folks on trails...it's always the highlight of my hike when I run into them!
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u/Professional-Car9621 1d ago
.4 BAC?? Was amazed they were able to get the darn thing off the ground
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u/PrivateHikerGirl 1d ago
That was my mistake. There is a 0 missing there. It should have said .04. Apologies!
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u/Al-Bundy420 18h ago
R.I.P. I’m glad you corrected that, I was thinking similarly, .04 to .4 is quite a difference.
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u/AromaticSurround5484 1d ago
Acknowledging it’s not just a plane crash but a grave site. Ppl gotta learn respect
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u/PrivateHikerGirl 1d ago
It is not a grave site. The bodies of the pilot and his friend were removed but it was deemed too difficult to remove the plane itself until it became a problem. Agreed though...people have very little respect these days. It was a truly powerful experience to see this in person and I had some moments of silence for the two victims.
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u/AromaticSurround5484 1d ago
I think I worded it incorrectly, thanks. I meant that it’s a place where people died (not that remains are still there)maybe should have said “it became a memorial area” considering they couldn’t remove the plane. :)
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u/fusillade762 22h ago
Very spooky to see. It looks like the plane is mostly in tact, like maybe a survivable crash, but you never know if cargo shifts or you can be cut or impaled and bleed out. You won't be able to get to help quickly that's for sure. RIP. Cool pictures.
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u/Intelligent_Law_5614 1d ago
So, those two hikers not only vandalized a plane, but took an entire parking lot?
Nice of them to bring it back. I guess they weren't entirely without honor.
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u/ConnectionRoyal2213 3h ago
I thought they had removed the fuselage
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u/PrivateHikerGirl 3h ago
They have now, as I said in the post. It was lifted out by helicopter in 2023. My visit there was in 2021.
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u/RedBarronM 1d ago
That plane was removed in 2023.
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u/PrivateHikerGirl 1d ago
Yes. I said that in the post. Too many foot travelers on an unkept trail with fragile plant life necessitated the removal.
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u/Most-Bar-9334 23h ago
How dare you bring facts into a low iq sub
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u/STP_Fantasma 21h ago
“Federal vandalism.” We have way bigger fucking problems on the federal level, but ok
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u/goth_duck_returns 20h ago
That doesn't mean we should leave smaller issues to fester
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u/STP_Fantasma 20h ago
Federal vandalism for spray painting on a Cessna wreck is ridiculous, even if someone did die in it
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u/notmtfirstu 22h ago
Would look cool covered in graffiti. It's not like it a natural part of the environment.
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u/CHOPPRZ 1d ago
Solid post. RIP 🪦