www.reeleak.com

The Crash Is At 6:00

On August 10, 1984, a Cessna L-19 Bird Dog (registration N4584A), piloted by James Jeb Caddell, 36, crashed in a forest near Tabernash. The aircraft was en route from Granby to Jeffco Airport, Colorado. The wreckage was found by backpackers three years later on August 23, 1987. A 6½ minute video shot from a VHS camcorder mounted on the instrument panel was found at the site. The heavily damaged tape, some of it hanging from tree branches, was recovered and repaired by Colorado deputy sheriff Dale Wood. Subsequent analysis of the footage revealed that the pilot had not taken into account the density altitude conditions that existed on the day of the flight. The aircraft was unable to climb away from steadily rising terrain. In an attempt to return to the departure airfield, the pneumatic stall warning of the airplane sounded three times during a turn to the right. The pilot could be heard yelling, "Damn, hang on Ronnie!" to his one backseat passenger, Ronald Hugh Wilmond, 36, three seconds before impacting the terrain and trees.

The Caddells had put a 20-year moratorium (via the FAA) on the release of the film to the general public with the only stipulation that it (at the FAA's request to the Caddells) be shown only to flight instructors at conventions and workshops. The moratorium eventually expired and was not renewed, and thus the footage became part of the public domain. The video is now viewable on YouTube.