70 years since crash of bomber into side of Franklin Mountains

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Seventy years ago on Dec. 11, 1953, a U.S. Air Force B-36D, a long-range strategic bomber, slammed into the Franklin Mountains, killing everyone onboard.

The plane was being transferred from Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, to what was then called Biggs Air Force Base at Fort Bliss.

Photos by Gabriela Rodriguez/KTSM

The plane carried nine crew members and there were no survivors. The Convair B-36 “Peacemaker” is considered the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built.

According to a historic marker at the crash site, the plane had a wingspan that was almost twice the distance of Orville Wright’s first successful flight in 1903.

After the crash, the Air Force removed most of the wreckage, but some still remains.

It is a well-known hiking destination for people who are willing to tackle the elevation gain and extreme conditions on the side of the mountain.

The crash site is protected as a Texas State Archaeological Site and nothing may be removed from it.

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