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Nikno
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Baja Airplane Wrecks
I love exploring abandoned and unusual places and things. One of the things I always find fascinating are airplane wrecks. I am wondering if people
know of any airplane wrecks in Baja that can be explored. Please add pictures and GPS info if you have it. Here is a list of the ones I know about :
Mexicali 727 at 32.500530, -115.396740
This is possibly the most famous airplane wreckage in Baja. It was featured in a Discovery Channel special. It was crashed remotely on the Laguna
Salada west of Mexicali in 2012. The wreckage was brought here and is on display on Highway 5 between Mexicali and San Felipe.
DC-3 at about 29.29250, -114.11585
This wreckage was described by Erle Stanley Gardner in "Hovering Over Baja" so it crashed before 1961. I don't have the exact coordinates and I am
unsure if there is still any wreckage visible. I can't see anything on satellite images. If anyone knows the exact location or has seen this wreckage,
please reply. I would like to hike up here and check it out if I can get more information.
Helicopter at 29.42288, -114.19482
Fascinating story behind this wreckage. This helicopter was lost for many years and then discovered by chance during the Baja 1000 only about 1,000
feet away from the route. There were supposed to be 3 people on board but only 2 bodies were found. The missing person was a drug lord. There has been
speculation that he faked his death.
Old wreckage in Juncalito Bay near Loreto at approx. 25.839700, -111.316781
An old 2 engine plane in 22 feet of water that can be visited on a dive tour. Either a B-24 or Dc-3 depending on reports. (Although a B-24 appears to
be 4 engines). According to reports on Nomad, it was still visible in 2014.
Who knows of other wrecks? I heard about one near San Francisquito but it may have been cleaned up. Erle has a photo of another wreck in the middle of
the desert in his book but the location is unclear. Does anyone know about that one?
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David K
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Great thread topic. I know someone who hiked up to see the wreckage. He is a Nomad but doesn't post anymore. There are great views from up on that
mountain east of El Crucero. I will dig up the posts and hopefully photos from 'billb' who wanted to go to the places Gardner did. Including
Salsipuedes Canyon, whose headwater is just east of the crash site.
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4x4abc
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I have found a number of wrecked planes over the years
always moved on as fast as I could
Harald Pietschmann
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David K
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Ok, I bumped up two old threads that discussed the DC-3 site with GPS and Google Earth images. The photos of the wreck that BillB sent me were hosted
by Nomad and vanished when Doug upgraded the forum (with a promise they would be restored one day). I will keep searching!
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mtgoat666
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Plane crash sites are places of death. If that is what you want, stop at any cross/memorial on the hwy for your taste of macabre.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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airmech
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Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  | | Plane crash sites are places of death. If that is what you want, stop at any cross/memorial on the hwy for your taste of macabre.
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Wow debbie downer!! Not true though. Many people survive plane crashes 
Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.
George Bernard Shaw
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advrider
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Cool, interesting topic. I have hiked/rode to several in California and Nevada.
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4x4abc
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29° 1'10.25"N, 118°16'41.48"W
Harald Pietschmann
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Nikno
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Great find, Harald! Isla Guadalupe has been on my bucket list for some time. Also, I agree, if you come across a fresh wreck in the middle of nowhere,
probably a good idea to get the hell out of there unless you want to end up on an episode of Narcos.
David, thank you for bumping those threads. I can't identify any wreckage on the satellite but it's also been up there 70 years and there probably
isn't much left or it's rusted out and scattered. I might check it out someday.
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David K
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I emailed BillB asking if he still can send those mountaintop photos.. I have not heard back yet.
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4x4abc
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I remember locals at Alfonsina's talking about discovering a wreck during a hike between Papa's and Mision Santa Maria
lost the location file I had in Google Earth
anyone?
Harald Pietschmann
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pappy
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Mesa avion...all we found were some beautiful wild horses after seeping the whole Mesa by foot
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4x4abc
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how did you get to Mesa el Avion?
It is a big mesa - more than 6 miles long
if there is any wreckage, it would be hard to find
the name does not necessarily mean that an airplane crashed there
could mean that it was used as a practice airfield
there is one of those in Death Valley
no roads leading to it - just a strip on a small mesa
Harald Pietschmann
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4x4abc
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the Death Valley strip:
36°48'50.00"N, 117°43'19.02"W
Harald Pietschmann
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David K
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| Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc | how did you get to Mesa el Avion?
It is a big mesa - more than 6 miles long
if there is any wreckage, it would be hard to find
the name does not necessarily mean that an airplane crashed there
could mean that it was used as a practice airfield
there is one of those in Death Valley
no roads leading to it - just a strip on a small mesa |
Pappy, Mexitron, Huddo, and the late Taco de Baja are featured on this page I made, and it includes their hike up to the mesa and Matomi Peak: http://vivabaja.com/mexitron/
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chrishaynesusa
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36°33'34.2"N 117°35'19.1"W
this one in saline valley has a US flag marking the spot where an A-6 aircraft went down.
pilot and bombadier lost.
short hike up a Steep trail(?) with a mesa with strewn A-6 pieces.
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Marc
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Airplane wrecks are pretty cool. We found three WW2 fighters in New Guinea years ago.
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pappy
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Thanks for the link David! I think the road in to base camp was perhaps more exciting than challenging than the hike itself. 4x4abc- we spent a night
on the Mesa and the next day we fanned out and did a sweep of the Mesa...
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David K
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Harald the road in is the right fork just north of El Sauce de Carter. This is the closet vehicle approach to Cerro Matomi and Mesa Avion that I have
seen.
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Stickers
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This photo made the rounds on nomad and other sites. I cant remember where in Baja it was,
Looks like a Mexican registered C-206
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