How can I find information about an airforce plane crash October 9,
1958 near Payette, Idaho.  My brother, James C. Miller (airman) was
killed in that crash.  We lived in the small town of Houston, Missouri
at that time and my brother was stationed at Polk Airforce base. I was
not allowed to read about the crash as I
was 13. He was also in a crash about 1 year before that in North
Carolina where several people were killed on the ground. I only found
a small article in a New York newspaper, but it did not tell the cause
of the crash in 1958.

---

Request for Question Clarification by rico-ga on 15 Jan 2003 06:19 PST

Hi clamityjane,

My sympathies on the loss of your brother.  I'm sure it's painful even
after all these years. I've been doing some research on the accident,
and have so far located the air craft type (Fairchild C-123 Provider),
its registration number (55-4521A), and the number of crew/passngers
(19) it was carrying when it went down. Beyond that, I have located a
site that claims to have more than 100,000 military "accident reports
and aircraft record cards" on file, and specifically for post-1955
military accidents, notes "...We have many reports on file and can
obtain reports that we do not have. These reports are edited by the
military and can take a while to obtain." Costs range from $30 to $45+
dependent on the length of the accident report, plus s&h "Orders are
generally processed in just a few weeks." "In the event that we do not
have the report on file, we will notify you immediately, obtain the
report and send it to you as soon as we obtain it, which usually takes
around a month."  (Quotes are taken from the site).

While I'll keep on looking on the Web, this site may be your best
source for obtaining the information in a reasonable time-frame. If
you think that information would be a satisfactory, please note that
through a clarification, and I will post it as an answer.

regards,

rico

---

Clarification of Question by clamityjane-ga on 15 Jan 2003 19:49 PST

Thanks, the cost is ok as I really would like to know just for my own
info. I would pay more then the $50, let me know. I knew that 19
airmen were killed in the crash, and I did know that he was a crewman
on C-119(flying boxcars), but did not know this was a C-123.   If you
have any other questions, let me know. Thanks, Joyce Slatner

Hi again Joyce,

Thanks for your reply, and your kind offer, but I feel the $50 is
sufficient for the information I'm providing.

Just to ensure that we're both on the same page, the information I'm
providing below is what I've been able to discover on the Web
concerning the accident, which is not more, unfortunately, than links
to the information I noted in my Request for Clarification.  What will
be more important and useful to you, I feel, is the information and
links concerning the "Aviation Archaeological Investigation &
Research" (AAIR) site, which is a resource of U. S. military aircraft
accident reports, pictures of aircraft crash sites, MACRs (Missing Air
Crew Reports) and individual aircraft history cards and historical
research that should be able to help you find more information
concerning the accident.

There are other organizations/people providing similar fee-based
reports, but after researching, I feel AAIR is your best bet. AAIR is
located on the Web at http://www.aviationarchaeology.com. The site and
organization is run by a Craig Fuller.  More information about Mr.
Fuller and AAIR can be found at..

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/history.htm

AAIR's address is:

Falcon Field Station Box 22049
Mesa, AZ 85277-2049

phone number: (480) 218-8198

email  aair@aviationarchaeology.com
 
Taken from the site's "History and Mission Statement" page at the link
cited above, Mr. Fuller notes,

"For the last 14 years, AAIR has been researching and documenting
military aircraft crash sites in the Western US. Frustrated with the
long wait and the cost of obtaining documents from the government,
AAIR started acquiring all of the military accident report and
aircraft record card microfilm reels, close to 2000 in all!

AAIR notes that its goals include, ..."provide military accident
reports significantly quicker and at a lower cost than dealing
directly with the government...provide aircraft record cards along
with a translation of the frustrating codes and shorthand so that they
will be more useful in your research..."

As I stated in my request for clarification, the AAIR will provide
and/or locate military aircraft accident reports for a fee. According
to the AAIR, Post W.W. II U.S.A.F. and July 1952 and later U.S.N.
average around 25 to 100+ pages. The average cost for post-1955
accident reports is $30-45+. For reports that exceed 30 pages, the
AAIR charges an additional 20 cents per additional page.  The site
notes, "If you would prefer to keep your report under 30 pages, we can
print out just the highlights of the report on the larger reports."
Shipping and handling, according to the site, is $2.

All the above information is taken from...

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/brochure.htm

The AAIR notes, "These reports are unedited (they were just recently
declassified) and we provide the complete report. We spend the extra
time to produce the best print possible from the microfilm." You can
see a sample report at the following link...

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/unedited.htm

AAIR accepts Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and personal checks. It notes,
"...We need a minimum of aircraft type and date of accident.
Approximate location is very useful. In addition, information such as
the serial number and crew names can also be helpful..."

You already have a sufficient amount of information that should enable
the AAIR to track down the accident report, or they may already have
it on hand. I think that if you contact the AAIR, they should be able
to find whatever official information exists on the crash within a
reasonable time.

As I noted in my request for clarification, what I was able to find on
the Web concerning the accident was very slim...

Aircraft Type: Fairchild C-123 Provider
Registration: 55-4521A
Number aboard/fatalities: 19

That information can be found at both the "PlaneCrashInfo.com" site...

http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1958/1958-35.htm

and the "Aircraft Crashes Record Office of Geneva"...

http://www.baaa-acro.com/archives/accident_1958.htm

Best of luck with your inquiries to the AAIR, and my best wishes to
you in in finding further information.

regards,

rico

Search Engines used:

://www.google.com
http://www.alltheweb.com
http://www.jkartoo.com

Search strategy:

Variations of "1958 +"Payette"; "military accident"; "military
aircraft accident" "October 9 1958" "10 9 1958" "58"

---

Clarification of Answer by rico-ga on 16 Jan 2003 08:14 PST

One note on an inadvertent typo, the third search engine I used is
"Kartoo." The correct link is...

http://www.kartoo.com

rico