I appreciated your comments. My brother graduated from Northridge State Univ and, ironically, went on to have a very successful career as a corporate pilot for over 40 years! Say goodbye to everybody were going in. The navigator of the F-89 had parachuted safely to the ground immediately after his jets near head-on collision with the larger aircraft. This scene was horrific seeing your classmates injured and scared. Someone told me at the time that the pilot never ejected, but stayed in the plane and flew in to the field on purpose to avoid nearby houses. My mother, Pauline Taylor, covered the story as a reporter for the Pacoima Post. Next there was dead silence in the classroom. If possible,could you give her my email?? I only got to watch it for a few seconds. [blog I dont think Ill ever get used to that word. I am 73 yrs old now and live in Tulsa,Okla. The community calls for the redevelopment of the . My mom was pretty sore that my dad hadnt called her. office waitingfor permission to retrieve the jacket she had forgotten on the athletic field when the DC-7 came down on the field. But now, thanks to Gary blanks filled. My dad had joined the Air National Guard in Idaho about a year before, and had gotten a transfer to the Van Nuys National Guard Base (146th Fighter-Interceptor Wing). I was amazed to run across your recording of the sounds of that tragic day. I remember it as a warm day,bright sunny day,no clouds and you could see forever. I think we played poker a lot. We used to stay with them when we would come down to visit Disneyland. Hi, my name is Shirley Kathryne Johnson Binkley.. Even people who lived a considerable distance away some who only read about it in the paper were profoundly affected. I had two cousins, Kathy & Patricia Zeise, who were in class at Pacoima Jr High that day. I was five so I doubt I even knew what tin foil was. I feel so bad for the co pilot..when he said in his last radio message Told you we should of brought chutes, Good- by everybody That kills meMy God I hope he did not suffer. Have you considered posting somewhere permanent or giving the recording to the Smithsonian? His friend, Richard Berger, was not as lucky and got severe burns over much of his back and legs. My mother was 36 yrs old and she promised my brother and I that she would try to keep the house so we could finish school with our friends. I like you, remember the crash vividly. Thank you for posting this remarkable, memorable recording and retelling of the events on that fateful day. I had no idea where he was and if he was ok. After what seemed like hours, we found each other. Thats why you hear the tape speeding up at the end. Your account is the first Ive heard of the tape being played on the radio, though it makes perfect sense. As far as I know, the law(s) still is on the books. comments sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . It could have been much, much more tragic. Thanks for your comment. All of us at the fence line knew children were hurt and killed. Russ, I was just looking through the blog again for familiar names (I wrote my memories earliert). Thank you for your input. This was truly cathartic for me. It seems like the majority of people who witnessed the crash and/or its aftermath developed the same fear. We were in the open when the debris starting falling and the ground shaking. I think dad had given Paul a copy of the tape back then. Try again later. My cousin, Ronnie, died on the playground that day. Just one more comment, January 31, 1957 was my thirteen birthday; one I will never forget. I hope your visit back to the homeland proves to be a great time. I believe it was an engine that crashed through the roof of our church. She gave me Carols email as she lives in Simi as does my sister and she seemed like someone I would like to get to know better. A part of the plane actually did land in the middle of the church, but no one was hurt. It includes important response assets such as Hospital Emergency Response Teams (HERT), Emergency Medical Cashes, hospital communication methods (to help avoid moving the disaster from the scene to nearby hospitals that are already overwhelmed). If you would like to help Terry fill in the blank spots in his memory, just write a comment on this page to that effect and I will pass the info along to Terry. At 10:15 a.m., the Douglas Aircraft Co. DC-7B aircraft left Santa Monica Airport on its first test flight. I hoped these Pacoima pages might have cathartic value for some readers, and it seems that they have. AS WE WERE RELEASED TO GO HOME THE SIGHT WILL NEVER LEAVE MY MY MIND. Even though I never met Evan, I grew up hearing about what happened. Even though I never met Evan, I grew up hearing about what happened. If you like history too, this is the channel for you.Subscribe for more forgotten history: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sEmXUuWIFlxRIFBRV6VXQ?sub_confirmation=1.Awesome The History Guy merchandise is available at:https://teespring.com/stores/the-history-guyScript by THG#aviation #thehistoryguy #california Hell, I was only in the 4th grade, I had watched the movies, but this was nothing like the movies, this was real. I dont remember Craig Bentley, but he sounds like a kid with interesting hobbies. Was your dad assigned to work the crash or did he go there to see if you were OK? still later my father showed up to take me home from school in the middle of the afternoon and told me what had happened. I guess you figured the best way to keep those things airborne was to pilot them yourself. Three died: Ronnie Brann, 13; Robert Zallan, 12; and Evan Elsner, 12. If there is anyone else, please call me. There were other people there, it was oily and a lot of debris. God bless, Russ, Its strange, you were only two years older than I, but remember much more. My brother Marvin and sister Delores were at the school and my sister was in the auditorium at the time of the crash. As images of actual events are sometimes not available, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration. No one involved with the family could offer any insight as to what she had experienced. There was a huge part of the plane lying in the small church parking lot that bordered the east side, To the west, several of the elementary bungalows that skirted the playing field, mine included, were pocked with gaping holes where debris had torn through the fence and into the rooms.. A boy, his hair covered in hot oil, walked blindly along the fence. Interesting you said Wollensak.I can still see the cover of that reel to reel tape and it was 3M. She lived right on across the street from the school. My father was a Los Angeles Policeman stationed at the Van Nuys Station. Airplane debris from the mid-air crash over Pacoima Junior High on January 31 . 1957 Pacoima mid-air collision - Wikipedia 1957 . We drove home in silence. The windows of our classroom faced north and provided a nearly unobstructed view of the events. Terrifying moments seem to go by in slo-mo. Debris on the Pacoima Junior High School Athletic Field. Do you remember a little girl who lived across the street named Nancy? Dad took us to see the crash when he got home from work. At first it looked like one plane and its landing gear then as they got closer we could see it was two planes, then we saw the parachute. We both got in trouble for running outside but I didnt care. The History Guy remembers a mid-air collision between two planes flying test flights over a California city and its connection to Ritchie Valens.This is original content based on research by The History Guy. I may have only been five, but youd think I would remember the sound of the explosion or the sirens, considering that my mom and I were at the church adjacent to the school when the DC-7 came down. I can picture Raymond Eaker, as well. Hundreds of mothers in the neighborhood were also running toward the school, all of them screaming as we all descended on the horrible sight. I was only five when the plane came down and remember very little of that day, despite the fact that my big sister and my dad were on campus when it happened. when the schools power goes out and the recording winds to a stop. Kris, If there is anything I can help you with, let me know. He would have loved to hear that you remembered him as a darn good teacher over 50 years later. On January 31, 1957, a Douglas DC-7B collided with a United States Air Force Northrop F-89 Scorpion. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. At that moment everything was chaos and the next thing I remember was my teacher yelling at us to go home. From a fellow Beachy-ite, thanks for commenting Only one of them had a sibling at the Junior High that day, who was unharmed. I dont know what made look this up now, but Im glad I did. Ive been amazed at the responses to this post and how many commenters who saw or heard the plane come down but were not directly harmed by the crash were nonetheless deeply affected, in one way or other, for their entire lives. As I was running, I saw the kids trying to climb the fence, the fires, the screaming, and some of the injured. Note from Russ Buchanan to those who were there: Pacoima Jr. High alum Terry Brown, who was badly injured in the crash but has never been able to recall what happened that day, would like to speak to anyone who has a recollection of the events especially someone who might have some idea of what happened to him. Ill never forget what I saw. Actually, played might be overstating it somewhat. He took his job very seriously. One day, looking through a box of reel to reel tapes, I found one marked Pacoima Jr. High School airplane crash (1957). The image of a hunk of metal slicing through an elementary school classroom is terrifying. I can talk about the experience, but right now Im shaking inside. Im delighted that a) you used it and b) it worked for you. He and his family were members of the Pacoima Congregational Church. A little detour here. I have never been there, this will be a first for me. But please do not copy and paste any of the text to another site . I thought I might be able to click and drag it to the comment section but that didnt work. Thank you so much for your comment. Then again, I was only five so everything probably sounded unusual. At least, I hope so. I had been on my brand new Schwinn bicycle, riding on the sidewalk on Stanford Avenue across the street from my house on Sunburst Avenue. I wanted to let you know that we had our disaster drill 2 weeks ago and the recording really caught people off guard. Well drawn memories like yours add dimension to the story and help to give those of us who werent there a better idea of the situation, awful as it was. Youd think I would have remembered that little detail but no, the slate is clean. We entered the playground through the faculty parking lot and beheld a twisted, scorched and oil-soaked landscape. [4], Following the collision, Curtiss Adams, the radarman aboard the eastbound twin-engine F-89J Scorpion, was able to bail out of the stricken fighter jet and, despite incurring severe burns, parachuted to a landing on a garage roof in Burbank, breaking his leg when he fell to the ground. (we might even have been in the same kindergarten class Mrs. Aldridge was the teachers name. It seemed longer in person. I thought we were being bombed so I immediately dropped to the floor and assumed the duck and cover position, remembers Pam. I still cry when I try to tell people what happened that day. Hi, Alan My job was to help families deal with severe emotional and behavioral issues that were keeping them in the cycle of poverty, substance abuse, crime, etc. Thank you for adding your vivid account to the discussion. First, when I was in the room with Lloyd Hopkins he told me we were running to get behind the handball wall. Ill never forget seeing one of the students hopping away to safety on one leg. I had Mrs. Oschatz for third grade and Mr. Marto for fourth. The post Haiti, April 2023: Soon There Will Be No One Left to Kidnap appeared first on The Nation. In short, my opinion is.GREAT JOB, MY FRIEND!!! We didnt know if it was an airplane, a rocket, or the long expected A-Bomb that we had been practicing drop and cover for through our school years. I have seen La Bamba a few times and its reference to this crash always makes me think about my roots again. Plus a few others Mrs. Aldritch, my kindergarten teacher, Mr. Simpson (I think), my first grade teacher and Miss Christie, second grade, who tried desperately to get me to switch from being left handed to no avail. the sky. As I lost view of the plane, a few seconds later I saw a huge ball of flames and black smoke rise into the air. I had found a picture of Pam B. and 3 friends at HER Pacoima Jr High grad day, June of 1959 and brought it to the reunion with me. From one Poly high alum to another, I really appreciate the thanks at your sign-off; I am now more convinced that posting this story/recording was a good thing to do. did someone set them off or? Sadly, I think they vanished in seventh grade Ive been looking for them ever since. In summary, the disaster drill was a disaster. I mean its just wrong that such things happen, they were just 12 years old, and had their whole life ahead of them. We watched while it flew out of sight and finally the plume of smoke. I guess the real though posthumous thanks for this post should go to my dad, who kept the tape in such good shape for so many years. The organizers believe the sound of an actual disaster will lend gravitas and realism to the drill. A policeman came by later to see if I had come home. Many commenters on these pages were in nearby elementary schools when it happened. The whole house shook from a sudden and violent explosion. I assume you went to Pacoima after Terra Bella. The police and ambulances finally arrived in droves, driving on sidewalks and front lawns to reach the school because the roads were clogged with frantic parents. The noise of the crash was so much louder than It sounded in the recording, but my husband, who was in the graduating class at San Fernando Jr. High, and did not hear the plane crash, said, when he heard the recording, Wow.. I was in the auditorium (in the orchestra) as the soon to be graduates were rehearsing. I remember looking back at our teacher and seeing the light of the glowing explosion of flames on her face as she screamed in helpless terror. An estimated 75 more students on the school playground suffered critical and minor injuries. Sadly, while researching the crash I found that Coach Vardanian died in June 1964 (Heroes and Teachers Possemato, et al., Google Books) a mere seven years after his heroism at age 34. Then it became a deadly trap, New York woman driven to wrong address is fatally shot by homeowner, The actor, the hairstylist and the eye surgeon: Drugs and death in a Malibu beach house, Have guests in town? Always good to hear from a fellow Beachy-ite. He thought he found it on fake Rent-A-Hitman site, feds say, Search continues after 3 sailors on Mexico-to-San Diego trip go missing amid rough seas. After reading the information I guess I was amazed at the life experiences especially involving the military that he had already accumulated when I knew him. Years later, my husband worked with a gentlemen named Pat, who lost his leg in the event. Thanks for writing. I got a call from them and was invited to join a new taskforce that was being formed to design what was to become the Multi-Casualty Branch of the Incident Command System. Yeah. Thanks Russ for posting this. My uncles story was one that has not been told and I think it added to your blog rather than detracting from it. Thank you so much for your interest and posting this piece of history. My brother was terrified of flying his entire life. Hello, Pamela Thank you, Mr. Buchanan. I have a vague recollection, though, of shiny metallic shards falling from the sky. Calvin Trillin The post Democracy in Tennessee appeared first on The Nation. About 110 years, I think. Upon our arrival, she called the school to tell them that I had been found. Thank you for complimenting my youthful selfs social skills. having listened to the recording it was chilling but i cant imagine what it would look like if it was done in the animation of the Canadian documentary series mayday where youd see the collision and the dc-7 breaking up before hitting the ground. Thanks for your fascinating website, and for the chilling and haunting audio of the plane crash at Pacoima Junior High School. I would like to know why, as I said nothing derogatory in any way. In other words, if a comment disappears, it is due to some technological hiccup, not yours truly. I recall that some kids were having some twisted fun at Craig Bentleys expense, spreading rumors that he had been intimate with a tree. I was 6 years old at that time and I still have my class photos of May 1956 and 1957 if anyone is interested. I had no idea Phyllis had gone out on the field to retrieve her jacket. Howerver, I did not ask permission to go out and get it, I just ran out, grabbed it and was not in the gym side door but a few seconds when the plane crashed. I think there was a lot of heroism on that day, but few names have been mentioned. as I watched the plane falling from the sky finally losing sight as it fell behind the mountain. Hi again, Terry I think it might be a good idea for you to browse the commenters at the Pacoima pages to find who you think might be a good candidate to help you remember. My name is Phil Smith. I went to this school on 1967 and always remember hearing some of the teachers saying they were there on that day. Someone from school had called my mom to see if I had run home. Indeed, I owe a very heartfelt thanks to your dad my sister and dad were in the classrooms, and my mother and I were in one of the houses. The interest and response to this story and recording have been widespread, with apparently no age or national boundaries. Bill Ritchie, Photo no longer up, but I made paper photo copy of picture and sent to wordpress.com website for research purposes. I too remember seeing debris in the sky. And yes, please, feel free to include the link. Pretty amazing, considering that today that same brain cant even remember where it put its keys. In fact, the thought that those sons or daughters might be traumatized by hearing the recording almost kept me from posting it. Russ, I have put text to your audio file into an mp4. We were all taken out as if a fire drill and watched a parachute decending. Thanks for this historic artifact. By fortune, all of those classrooms students were assembled on the other side of the school; had the children been there, the death toll would have been much higher. Then and Now column in Sunday's California section about a collision between a fighter jet and a transport plane over Pacoima in 1957 incorrectly stated that the accident generated more. I can still see him so clearly after these 58 years. Yknow, at the house we never talked much about the crash. He must have lived near me on Beachy Ave. Could you put me in contact with David? One of the guys (last name Mitchell)was on the Poly High football team I was on and was one of the kids injured on the PJH field that day. One of three students. I still drive by the old neighborhood on my way to golf at Hansen Dam it still looks nice (the many new wrought iron fences around many front yards notwithstanding). There was a tree planted to honor each of the boys that were killed. The young lady was living with her mother who had significant mental health issues of her own. I was playing outside. Good luck. Little did I know that a plane had crashed at the school my brother was attending. Such a sad day for so many! Mark Boone,David Jones and of course Ritchie Vallens (Richard Vallenswella) made our 9th grade year full of music..they would entertain us at lunch time.we were happy young people! Thanks for commenting, Anthony. Many whove commented here have told about the deep and lasting scars on their psyches from having witnessed the crash. The crash also prompted the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to set restrictions on all aircraft test flights, both military and civilian, requiring that they be made over open water or specifically approved sparsely populated areas.[4]. Thought you might be interested. My brother was in the auditorium for graduation ceremonies, I was in the 4th grade on the playground for recess. I was traumatized for years, fearful of every jet flying overhead, I am still uncomfortable flying. What was very strange, is that the tragedy connected us all to each other. I was in the auditorium on the day of the crash, practicing for my graduation. Our big issues revolved around determine which patients should be transported first and how much treatment should be done at the scene prior to transport. We lived near by on Gain Street and I went to Kindergarten at Beachy Avenue School. Of course, none of us knew how to play so our poker sessions were quite long and involved. The Scorpion burst into flames. My prayer to God is that everyone touched by this tragic event be touched by God in a special way to bring total healing. I was in Drafting class next to the gymnasium and was knocked off my stool by the crash. When I connected Richards name with the picture I remember him. On January 31, 1957, a Douglas DC-7B transport plane crashed into the school yard of Pacoima Junior High School, 9919 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, after colliding with a Northrop F-89J Scorpion jet trainer plane. MIchael Russell also a graduate of James Monroe High School, as was Donna. Later I returned to my regular class and started hearing rumors which I did not believe. I dont have any memories of the actual crash but two people said they saw me running so I know I was awake for part of it. Linda made another speech that day. If you were an 8th grader when this happened, you must be in your 70s now. I heard the planes roar as it went directly over my head, just above the trees. Yeah, Ill bet it seemed longer. I was in class, a distance from the ball fields, but we saw the flash and thought it was a bomb. Lana(Brosamle) Hale. My classroom was located adjacent to the fence that separated the two schools. The first kid to see it saw the impact flash. Yeah, that is one stunning little piece of Valley history like an audio time capsule. So maybe your dad did distribute copies to all the other Jr. High Schools. Im glad I was down, because there was an engine embedded in the asphalt 25 feet away in the same direction I was running. I have wondered if I really heard this, but after reading the other accounts on this site I am sure I did. Is there any recent into or people who were on the field then that you could send me? I would narrate, go have a smoke and freeze my butt off, go back inside the theater, narrate, go have a smoke, freeze my butt off. For weeks after the crash there were people on the field, on hands and knees, picking up pieces of the wreckage. I wish that there was more footage, pictures, audio, and varies stories recalling the events that took place that day available on the internet. When did your dad retire. Hi D.Miller Do you remember you room number? Because we were children, and in an age when you simply go on with life, those I know of have done just that. For those who have nightmares, I have always called them chase dreams. I used to have a lot of them, especially during my Paramedic years. I didnt live close to the event but was scheduled to fly on a United DC7 on Feb. 2nd to boot camp on the East coast. The tragedy gained national notoriety when angry Pacoima parents successfully petitioned officials to prohibit future test flights over populated areas. Scared the crap out of everyone. At 11:18 a.m., one moved into a wide turn 25,000 feet above the San Fernando Valley. When the plane hit I was running. I remember, we used to have drop drills at Beachy Elementary often. Thanks again, Sheryl. After assuring the young ladys safety and involvement in counseling, I turned my attention to the broader family issues. Some dived to the ground; others were running when the blast of debris overtook them. 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