A Visit to the Plane Crash on Grouse Mountain

Tonight we did a mid week outing to Grouse Mountain. Neil has often talked about going to the site of the plane crash on Grouse. We met up with Dave, Liza and Craig and were on our way by 6:15. In 1954 a US Air Force pilot flying an F86 Sabre crashed his jet into the side of Grouse Mountain. The F86 was fully armed with 24 rockets. There is lots of speculation of what went wrong. The jet was flying with an estimated velocity exceeding 760 mph when it plowed into the trees and mountain at the 2700 foot elevation near a cabin located a few hundred feet from the chair lift. A 1000 foot swath was cut through the trees and the wreckage was strewn over a wide area. The crash killed the pilot who was still strapped in his seat.(Sources: Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Province and Tacoma News Tribune archives)

There is a nice memorial plaque on a tree with the remains of the jet engine. The family has created a log book for visitors to sign and information about the crash is displayed under plastic laminate.

It was a 2 hour outing tonight - well worth the visit!