Public Invited to Learn About 1975 Air Force Crash Thursday, February 17 at 7 p.m
The Olympic National Park Visitor Center (3002 Mount Angeles Road, Port Angeles) will host a discussion of the 1975 crash of an Air Force cargo plane in the eastern part of Olympic National Park.
Retired park ranger George Bowen of Hoodsport will lead the slideshow presentation and talk, to be held Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Bowen served as the park’s East District ranger from the early 1970’s until his retirement in 1993 and was a member of the search and recovery team following the crash.
Flying southbound over the Olympic Mountains shortly before midnight on March 20, 1975, the C-141A Starlifter carrying 16 servicemembers crashed into Warrior Peak (elevation 7,310 feet), on the northwest face of Mount Constance.
The flight was en route to McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma, originating at Clark Air Base in the Philippines and making stops at Kadena and Yokota air bases in Japan.
The crash remains the largest single loss of life in the history of Olympic National Park.