I read about an interesting (to me) trail on www.traildamage.com about a T33A plane crash site near Nederland, Colorado so Kathy and I headed out in that direction to try to find it. While we were in the area we ran Middle St. Vrain, Coney Flats and Bunce School Road in addition to the T33A crash site trail.
The weather was in the 80s and this was another perfect day of Jeeping in the Rockies 
We started out on Middle St. Vrain about midday then looped back to Highway 72 via Coney Flats before heading over to Bunce School Road which is the trail the T33A plane crash trail spurs from.
This was the first time Kathy and I took the Jeep out on our own so we wanted to keep to easy trails and just tool around for a day.
| |
Middle St. Vrain is an easy trail but rocky in places with a few stream crossings.
|
Coney Flats is also an easy trail with lots of water crossings and some great views.
|
The T33A plane crash site.
Two people were killed in the crash that happened on Jule 27th, 1965. It was a T-33A jet trainer, and the pilot was a very experienced Air Force Major named Jay Currie. First Lieutenant Donald Darby was riding along as a technical observer. They were flying from Buckley Field to California, and Major Currie was viewing some property he owned in Colorado, flying at 13,000 feet.
The reasons for the crash are not known. He was told to go to 17,000 feet by Air Traffic Control, but then contact was lost. It is known that he was flying slowly, there were no technical issues with the plane, and neither of the pilots attempted to eject from the plane. There were thunderstorms reported in the area, which may have contributed to the crash.
|
|
