Sinatra Treasure ( caution-plane crash- )

pegleglooker

Bronze Member
Jun 9, 2006
1,857
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Banning, California
Detector(s) used
ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
WARNING

This can be seen as a morbid tale... Skip or read... your choice....

The following is a quick synopsis of what happened:

Date / Time: Thursday, January 6, 1977 / 5:00 p.m.
Operator / Flight No.: Jet Avia charter service / Private Charter
Location: Mt. San Gorgonio, San Bernardino County, Calif.

Details and Probable Cause: Natalie “Dolly” Sinatra, the 82-year-old mother of entertainer Frank Sinatra, was aboard a chartered private Gates Learjet 24B (N12MK) that departed Palm Springs Municipal Airport for Las Vegas, Nevada, in adverse weather conditions.

Instead of making a prescribed turn to the right following takeoff at 4:55 p.m., the jet continued on its original course and, approximately five minutes after departure, crashed at 9,700 feet into the cloud-and-snow-covered slope of the 11,502-foot-high San Gorgonio Mountain.

Killed in the crash were Mrs. Sinatra; Mrs. Anna Carbone, 67, a friend Mrs. Sinatra had invited along for the trip; and the aircraft’s pilot and co-pilot.

The flight crew erred in that they misinterpreted a clearance issued by the Palm Springs departure control and subsequent air traffic control instructions.

The wreckage was spotted from the air by searchers on the morning of January 9. The bodies of the four victims were recovered from the remote, mountainous crash site on January 10.

The two women were flying to Las Vegas to attend Frank Sinatra’s opening night performance at Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino.

Fatalities: 4

I had read a more detail report that Mrs. Sinatra was carring her jewels in a small case ( as she has done wherever she goes ) and it was not found at the crash site. The site as not identified, but was to be in a " very steep terrain " and would difficult to get to. The crash would cause a impact into the mountain and could be several feet deep into the hillside. If you draw a line from the airport to Mt Gorgonio, it's not a straight line.
 

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Yes is listed on California Crash Locator list for 2010..Lear Jet N12MK White with Blue trim , hit 9000' level 34 04N 116 47W


Terry (Wreck Finders)
 

Been on Gorgonio looking for that wreckage a couple of times. The hardest part about the whole thing are all the plants that want a piece of anybody walking through their territory. The only way to really hit that is after a big burn!

Mike
 

Being on the other side of the Pacific puddle when you guys are going through drought we have been well and truly out of drought for last 4-5 years consistant rain and plants growing unstoppable.

Crow
 

Maybe with California's severe drought the plants may soon be a non-issue.
Don....

If they die, the thorns just get harder. HAHAHA A burn is the best way to scour the mountainside.

Mike
 

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