Final Flight: The Mystery of a WW II Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen in the High Sierra
In October 2005, two mountaineers climbing above Mendel Glacier in the High Sierra stumbled upon an eerie sight: the mummified remains of a man in a World War II uniform, preserved in the ice for more than 60 years. The media quickly dubbed him the “Frozen Airman,” and the discovery sparked a mystery that drew journalist and mountaineer Peter Stekel into one of the most fascinating WWII aviation stories never told.
The airman was part of a four-man crew lost during a routine training flight in 1942, more than 150 miles off course. What happened on that fateful day? Stekel’s investigation revealed a story of bad weather, bad luck, and bureaucratic missteps: empty graves, botched records, and failed recovery attempts that left families without answers for decades.
Incredibly, in 2007, while retracing the crew’s path, Stekel himself discovered the remains of a second airman—finally allowing another lost young man to be returned home. His book, Final Flight, combines meticulous historical research, gripping mystery, and mountaineering adventure to bring the story of these aviators to life.
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backpacking in Kings Canyon National Park, and they decided they'd go up to this area called Mendel Glacier, and they found airplane wreckage. They reported their discovery to the Army.
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The Army went up there in the late summer in 1947, thinking that they would be able to find remains of crew members. They were not successful. They went back in 1948 to look again, and they were not successful.
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So they decided that from what limited amount of airplane wreckage they discovered, they had a number from an engine, and they traced it back to this plane that had disappeared in November 1942.
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They assumed the crew was dead, and Unlock this episode right now by clicking on the link for your free seven-day trial in the show notes or by visiting mysteriousradio.com.
