Hikers Can Still Visit the Wreck of the Albatross, a Top-Secret Cold War-Era Spy Plane
On a cold and dark night in January 1952, a distress call went out over Death Valley. “Mayday. Mayday. Mayday. This is Air Force 001 bailing out north of Barstow, California,” an official crash report would later read. Six men jumped out of a 16-ton, two-engine, SA-16 Albatross plane into total darkness. The plane, with its backdoor hanging open, continued unmanned for a few moments, eventually crashing into a nearby desert mountain.
More than 70 years later, the metallic carcass is still there. The site, which can still be accessed by very experienced hikers, is just the start. The real story is why the Air Force was flying over Death Valley in the first place: a fantastical tale that involves the most secret corners of the federal government, classified nighttime training flights, and Cold War anti-communist agents.
The plane was part of a joint effort between the Air Force and the CIA, known as the 580th, 581st, and 582nd Air Resupply and Communications Wings, also known as ARC Wings. The project was a “super-secret operation few people knew about in 1952.” The CIA was flying over the park, not using it, when the plane crashed.
The formation of the ARC Wings was a result of the post-war period of the early 1950s. The group was made up of former World War II pilots and designed to be “capable of penetrating foreign borders for the specific purpose of infiltrating agents and equipment to countries friendly towards the United States but who were under the control of Communist rulers.”
The plane, an Albatross, was on a practice run, flying from Mountain Home Air Force Base in southwestern Idaho, down to San Diego and back. The first sign of trouble came around 6:30 p.m., when one of the Albatross’ two engines gave out. The crew bailed out at around 9,700 feet, using parachutes. Two of the crew were hurt on landing and stayed in the spot as a precautionary measure. The others walked across the desert toward the only visible light, at Furnace Creek.
The plane itself had an interesting ride before it crashed. It skimmed a summit at Towne Pass, hit a ridge, and landed mostly intact on Hunter Mountain in western Death Valley. A “pretty serious search effort” followed, with at least two searches using a local sheriff’s plane being unsuccessful. The plane’s “burned” wreckage wasn’t located for two days, until a telescope spotted it from the ground on January 26, 1952.
Today, what’s left of the Albatross rests at about 6,500 feet elevation, about 2.5 miles from California Highway 190. It’s visible from the road if you know what you’re looking for. However, there is no official trail to the site, and it’s only recommended for experienced, extreme desert hikers.