[ruzbehxyz]

A missing World War II plane has been discovered in the Indian part of the Himalayas 77 years after it crashed with no survivors, as per AFP. This was after a treacherous search that resulted in 3 guides dying.

The C-46 transport aircraft had 13 people on board from Kunming in southern China when it got lost in stormy weather over a mountainous stretch of Arunachal Pradesh state in early 1945.

"This aircraft was never heard from again. It simply disappeared," said Clayton Kuhles, a US adventurer who was leading the mission after a request from the son of one of those who died due to the crash.

The expedition took months and saw Kuhles and a team of guides from the local Lisu ethnic group go over chest-deep rivers and set up camp in extremely cold temperatures at high altitudes.

Three guides died due to hypothermia.

The team finally found the plane on top of a snow-clad mountain in December 2021, where could identify the wreckage by the tail number.

There were no human remains.

Kuhles was given the task to search for the plane by Bill Scherer, whose officer father was on board when the crash happened.

"All I can say is that I am overjoyed, just knowing where he is. It is sad but joyous," said Scherer.

"I grew up without a father. All I can think of is my poor mother, getting a telegram and finding out her husband is missing and she is left with me, a 13-month-old baby boy," he added.

Source: https://www.indiatimes.com/news/indi...rs-559996.html

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

A missing World War II plane has been discovered in the Indian part of the Himalayas 77 years after it crashed with no survivors, as per AFP. This was after a treacherous search that resulted in 3 guides dying.

Source: https://www.indiatimes.com/news/indi...rs-559996.html

Thanks for sharing.

This reminds me of a plane that crashed (CFIT) hitting a snow mountain and could not be found for decades. It had fallen into a glacier after hitting the snow mountain and hence completely hurried in the avalanche resulting from the hit.

The plane was found after many decades, after flowing very slowly along with the glacier. And interestingly, a tyre in the debris was still found pressurized!

[sandeepmdas]

No human remains..

Means the crew might have survived the crash and somehow managed to walk away from the site?

I sincerely hope all of them died instantly, after the impact.

[libranof1987]

As glaciers melt, expect more debris and remains to be found?

We've already had this.

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

No human remains.

Given the temperatures, if/when we find the remains, they might be very well preserved.

[Rahul Rao]

There are about 700 missing WW II planes in the Himalayas. Few small single seater ones have been found in trees too. I know that many families need closures, but chances of finding survivors after 70 years is impossible.
Is it worth the effort to search for them at the cost of the lives of searchers.

Rahul