SAMANIEGO
PLANE CRASH
Two men were killed when their F100F jet fighter aircraft crashed into the
snow covered, cloud-shrouded Samaniego Peak about
0900 Wednesday morning, 12 March 1975. Killed were Captain Jackson F.
Hurst, age 33, instructor with the Arizona Air National Guard and 2nd Lt.
Richard T. Ortenblad, age 26, from the South Dakota
Air National Guard. Lt. Ortenblad was in
The plane hit the mountain just below the 6000 foot peak and disintegrated upon
impact. Debris from the aircraft was spread over a one square mile
area. There was no indication of trouble before contact with the aircraft
by radar and radio was lost. However, the National Weather Service said
that at the time of the crash, low clouds and snow showers obscured the mountains
around
Paul McGee of McGee Ranch witnessed the crash according to the Green Valley
News. He heard the jet overhead when it was flying at a particularly low
altitude and saw it fly into the cloud cover surrounding the peak. Then
he heard the crash. He notified Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base before going to the scene where he found the wreckage about 150
feet below the summit.
The Air Force removed the major pieces of wreckage but for several years there
were numerous small bits of metal scattered about the peak. Over the
years most of these disappeared as souvenirs. Now there is very little
evidence that a plane crash had occurred.
The Green Valley Hiking Club prepared a brass plate memorializing the incident
and mounted it at the crash site. In January 1998, the club conducted a
hike to the scene to remount the plate since it had been reported that the
mounting post had been knocked over. Upon arrival at the scene, it was
discovered that someone had “appropriated” the brass plate. All that
remained were remnants of the post with holes where the plate had been
mounted.
Summary prepared by Lillian Monson and updated by T. Johnson.
Additional Material: GVHC Library File 69