NEWS: Janet Beechcraft crash near Area 51

Wednesday, March 17th, a US military plane crashed in an unpopulated area, about 200km north-west of Nellis Air Force Base. The exact location of the crash site is unknown but several area 51 experts believe it is near 'Gold Reed Pass', on a straight vector from Groom to the TTR. That location has been the site of other crashes in the past.



Source
A twin-engine Air Force transport plane crashed early Tuesday on Nellis Air Force Range, killing the civilian pilot and four contract workers who were traveling from a remote airstrip to the Tonopah Test Range, Air Force officials said.

A statement from Nellis base officials said the Air Force Beechcraft KA 1900 crashed at about 5 a.m. "while flying a routine support mission," roughly 125 miles northwest of the Las Vegas Valley.

The cause of the crash was unknown late Tuesday, but a team of investigators had been dispatched to the crash site.

"There were no survivors. Our immediate concern is for the families of those on board," the statement read. The bodies had been recovered but the names of the pilot and passengers were withheld pending notification of relatives.

A Nellis spokeswoman, 1st Lt. Amy Render, said the plane, which belonged to the Air Force Material Command, was taking contract workers for a Las Vegas company, JT3 LLC, from a classified airstrip on the Nellis range to the Tonopah Test Range.

She said the transport plane was in the middle of an airlift mission in support of the Air Force's flight test program.

Asked if the plane had departed the military's operating location along Groom Lake, an installation widely known as Area 51, Render said, "There is an Air Force operating location near Groom Lake but beyond that everything is classified."

While Air Force officials could provide only few details about the operations the transport plane was supporting, sources familiar with classified activities in remote parts of the sprawling Nellis range said the Beechcraft 1900 was one of several transport planes that shuttle workers from McCarran International Airport to the Groom Lake installation and the Tonopah Test Range.

One of the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the plane that crashed was known as the "Area 51 stretch King Air."

A telephone call about the crash to the JT3 company was fielded by Alan Hunter, vice president of EG&G Technical Services, who referred to the Air Force news release. "It was their aircraft. I can't confirm anything that is not in the press release," he said.

JT3 is a joint venture of the technical services subsidiaries of two corporations, EG&G and Raytheon.

According to JT3's Web site, the company's services include flight test engineering and analysis.

Tuesday's crash was the worst fatal accident on the Nellis range since Sept. 4, 1998, when two rescue helicopters crashed killing all 12 airmen on board.

Related ATS forum thread
Air Force Plane Crash Kills All on Board

Other sources
News.com.au
Las Vegas Review Journal

Related Websites
Detailed Janet Airline / EG&G information
Tonopah Test Range info


[Edited on 18-3-2004 by Zion Mainframe]

[Edited on 18-3-2004 by Zion Mainframe]

My heartfelt sympathies go out to the families of the victims, I know the Raytheon contract personnel along with the others that were onboard will be sorely missed by family, friends and co-workers.

Well, at least now they're admitting there's a base out there at Groom. Since Area 51 was established the military denied it's existence.

there are some apparent fixes going on right now, investigations are driven to their limits so as to determine if the plane crashed due to mechanical problems.
there might be...to some extent, new vigilante missions? "crazy americanz can alveyz bee trrasted" to do stupid things, and therefore this probably wasn't...just an accident (area51 wouldn't want any1 flying over them..or even remotely by them now would they)
admittedly...that's way too insensitive of me, however..i apologize, just stating an oppinion.
Cordially
Cyrus

Originally posted by mrmulder
Well, at least now they're admitting there's a base out there at Groom. Since Area 51 was established the military denied it's existence.

They have never denied the existance of the Groom Lake Facility.

It's on the aircharts.

Originally posted by COOL HAND

Originally posted by mrmulder
Well, at least now they're admitting there's a base out there at Groom. Since Area 51 was established the military denied it's existence.

They have never denied the existance of the Groom Lake Facility.

It's on the aircharts.

Whatever COOL HAND. I'd like to see your proof of that. Here's mine by the way.

For years, the government wouldn't even admit the base existed.

Full article right here www.klas-tv.com...

[Edited on 18-3-2004 by mrmulder]

they do not deny it's existance anymore

Originally posted by Zion Mainframe
they do not deny it's existance anymore

Exaclty, that's what I'm trying to point out to COOL HAND. Ever since the workers at Area 51 started dying from an unknown disease the families went to court to demand answers. That's when the government and military finally revealed the existence of the base.

I do not have the ability to scan an airchart for you, so I am looking to see if I can get one off the web. They have always shown the area as restricted airspace, with a marker where the runway is.

I've seen the aircharts since Area 51 was created and the military covered that up and then denied it. Why don't you take a look at this link.



[Edited on 18-3-2004 by mrmulder]

[Edited on 18-3-2004 by mrmulder]

Originally posted by COOL HAND
They have always shown the area as restricted airspace, with a marker where the runway is.

THis is not true Cool Hand, the base was so secret, it wasn't shown on any official map for decades.

Originally posted by mrmulder
I've seen the aircharts since Area 51 was created and the military covered that up and then denied it. Why don't you take a look at this link.

I did and fail to see your point. What I see is a picture that was classified, it says so on the left hand side.

I don't think that this is official, since they would have had to stamp "declassified" on it prior to releasing it for public viewing.

Originally posted by COOL HAND

Originally posted by mrmulder
I've seen the aircharts since Area 51 was created and the military covered that up and then denied it. Why don't you take a look at this link.

I did and fail to see your point. What I see is a picture that was classified, it says so on the left hand side.

I don't think that this is official, since they would have had to stamp "declassified" on it prior to releasing it for public viewing.

*sigh* even if I gave you a hundred links to prove it you still wouldn't believe it. I still see no proof from you.

even if I gave you a hundred links to prove it you still wouldn't believe it. I still see no proof from you.

Here's one:
lasvegas.about.com...

There is the proof of the airspace restriction for you. It is also located here:

clk.about.com.../XJ&sdn=lasvegas&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.serve.com%2Fmahood%2Fnellis%2Fgroom%2Fgroomtl.htm

BTW where is the denial that you mentioned about the AF pics?

I never said there was a denial about the Air Force pictures. I never even mentioned that. Read what I originally post. I said

Well, at least now they're admitting there's a base out there at Groom. Since Area 51 was established the military denied it's existence.

Meaning: "The government never acknowledges the existense of the base until recenlty." Forget the pictues in this instance.

And so Eisenhower signed an executive order. Big deal. All Presidents do that. That's still doesn't mean that they're going to acknowledge the existence of a base. That was signed so pilots over at Nellis wouldn't enter that air space.

[Edited on 18-3-2004 by mrmulder]

[Edited on 18-3-2004 by mrmulder]

And so Eisenhower signed an executive order. Big deal. All Presidents do that. That's still doesn't mean that they're going to acknowledge the existence of a base. That was signed so pilots over at Nellis wouldn't enter that air space.


By doing so they signified that they needed the use of that airspace. That to me signifies that there is a base there.

It does bring up a question, why does the gov't have to reveal its purpose when conducting classified work?