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About this time, the captain stated, the aircraft was approaching a dry lake and the first officer called the captain's attention to the possibility of landing on the lake. The captain did not consider this a necessity because he stated he could still maintain 90 knots with METC power.
After the airspeed dropped to below 90 knots, the captain believed he would have to make a crash landing on a smooth field. Approaching a field, the airspeed dropped to 85 knots and he shouted something — which he does not remember — to his copilot. He vaguely remembers gradually retarding the throttle. After a short roll over the crest of a hill, and down a steep slope he was confronted with an embankment which was the last thing he remembers.
During the emergency, no attempt was made to establish radio communications with any facility.
No witnesses could be found who observed the aircraft during the crash landing.
The aircraft was found at the foot of a small earthen reservoir dam which is approximately 3500 feet in elevation. The fuselage was on a heading 90 degrees to the left of the original ground path, 750 feet from the point of initial ground impact. The crash site was located at the bottom of a steep slope over which the aircraft passed. Because of a widespread drought, the surrounding terrain was hard and dry. Initial ground impact marks appeared in a plowed field leading to the crash site which had an upward slope of six degrees with a four-degree slope down to the right. These marks began with a left main gear tire gouge mark which gradually became deeper and which was on a heading of 188 degrees magnetic. A tail wheel tire gouge mark appeared 60 feet beyond the initial left main gear mark, and right main gear tlre gouge marks appeared 78 feet beyond the initial impact marks. Left propeller slash marks appeared beginning 85 feet from the point of initial impact and continued to a point 185 feet from initial impact. A right propeller gouge mark also appeared along this area near the right main gear tlre mark. Tire skid marks appeared on the top of the small hill.
The main landing gear and tail gear were torn from their attachment points and found beneath the aircraft near their normal position. The flaps were found in the "UP" position.
The fuselage and wings where intact but buckled or wrinkled in various areas. The cockpit area was torn open with the cockpit lying on its right side approximately 90 degrees to the fuselage. The cabin was twisted to the left at the bulkhead just behind the crew‘s seats; buckled extensively at the fuselage position to the rear of the wing; and wrinkled severely from top to bottom several inches to the rear of the left main cargo doors
Flight and engine control cables were found either severed or jammed at various positions within the fuselage. Control cables leading to the ailerons of both wings were intact but were off their pulleys. Rudder cables were intact but disclosed impact damage. Elevator trim cables were severed in the tail wheel compartment as a result of impact.
The left engine had torn loose from the nacelle but was lying in its relative position to the wing. The right engine was torn partially loose from the nacelle and was resting against the fuselage where one blade of the propeller had penetrated the fuselage.
