5 notable aircraft crashes in New Mexico

Jul. 21—A small plane departing Santa Fe bound for Santa Monica crashed into an unoccupied home recently when the left engine of the twin-engine Cessna failed shortly after takeoff. The pilot — Dr. Randy Sherman, a renowned plastic surgeon, professor at the University of Southern California and airplane pilot — died in the crash. Here's a look at five other notable aircraft crashes in New Mexico, based on Albuquerque Journal archives at Newspapers.com: TWA Flight 260 killing 16 people Date: February 19, 1955 Location: Sandia Mountains Death toll: 16 The twin-engined Martin 404 took off at 7 a.m. on a cold morning for a quick half-hour flight from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Soon after the flight took off, there was radio silence, leading to teams of search parties braving the icy February morning to look for the missing plane. The wreckage was discovered by Capt. James R. Bixler — a Carco Flying Service pilot — who spotted the tail section of the plan in a Sandia crag. Though the crash happened almost 70 years ago, the remains are still in the Sandia Mountains and hikers can visit the crash site. According to hikingproject.com, the trail starts out flat in Elana Gallegos, then turns into a steep climb with creek crossings and dense brush. The climb ascends 2,000 feet to the remains underneath the Sandia Tram. Balloon Crash killing four passengers and the pilot Date: June 26, 2021 Location: Unser and Central SW Death toll: 5 Susan Montoya, an assistant principal at Georgia O'Keeffe Elementary School, had received the balloon ride — a bucket list wish she'd had for years — as a gift because she was transferring schools. She and her husband, John, invited a couple of their friends, Martin Martinez — a former Albuquerque police officer — and his wife Mary Martinez, on the June 26 excursion. Around 7 a.m., the balloon hit power lines, severing them, and then caught fire and crashed to the ground near a West Central intersection. The Martinezes, Susan Montoya and pilot Nick Meleski died at the scene. John Montoya was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he died. A toxicology report found that Meleski had marijuana and cocaine in his system at the time of the crash. Helicopter crash killing four BCSO officers Date: July 16, 2022 Location: San Miguel County Death Toll: 4 Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Larry Koren, Lt. Fred Beers, Deputy Michael Levison and Bernalillo County Fire Rescue Specialist Matthew King were returning home to Albuquerque after helping crews fight the East Mesa fire outside of Las Vegas. The cause of the crash is unknown as officials say a full report could take one or two years, but initial reports said, two people watching the sunset reported that the helicopter "flew past their location westbound, then rapidly descended without making any turns. A large plume of dust occurred when the helicopter impacted the ground." The report states that when investigators arrived, the tail rotor tip cap was partially buried in the ground and the left and right skids were 38 feet and 77 feet from where the helicopter hit the ground. The main wreckage was 160 feet away and the tail boom was 20 feet away. Plane Crash kills three teens and the pilot Date: May 23, 2014 Location: Gila National Forest Death toll: 4 A group of three high school students from Aldo Leopold Charter School in Silver City were looking at the Signal Fire, which started in the Gila National Forest roughly two weeks before the crash. The students; Ella Kirk, 14, Michael Mahl, 16, and Ella Myers, 16, had previously worked on an eco-monitoring project in the area and were flying to the site to collect new data. Their pilot Peter Hochla, who was a psychiatrist from Albuquerque, was also killed in the crash. The students had just finished their sophomore year and worked with Youth Conservation Corp doing ecological work and teaching children about ecology, water conservation and watershed health. El Globo Grande balloon erupts in flame during Balloon Fiesta Date: October 3, 1982 Location: at the 11th annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Death toll: 4 In the worst disaster in Balloon Fiesta history, Dick Wirth, Christina Robinson, and Nick and Pamela Brainard were killed, and five others were injured when propane tanks on El Globo Grande exploded.