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| Since the mid-1930's, more than forty airplanes have
come to grief on the mountains surrounding Mena, Arkansas. The Federal
Aviation Administration and the State of Arkansas have worked to increase
the awareness of the potental dangers of flying in this area. The goal
of this section is to highlight the accidents, the majority of which are
weather related, in the hopes of preventing similar crashes.
The Ouachita Mountain range spans from mid-central Arkansas westward into Oklahoma, with peaks seeming to rise out of nowhere. The peaks run east-west, rather than north-south as with other ranges in North America. The confusion from this orientation, coupled with weather that tends to obscure the peaks, lends to the ranges macabre reputation for luring aircraft to their doom. After the Texas International crash in 1973, the Mena airport was renamed the Intermountain Regional Airport, and the VOR (which was always located on Rich Mountain, but named for a nearby town in Oklahoma) was renamed from Page to Rich Mountain. The emphasis to people flying into the area is "Mountain". This section is as much about aviation safety as it is about history, and will be updated as often as possible, as more records are found and chases completed. Contributions to this page are welcome. |
| Date | Type Aircraft | Tail Number | Fatal/ Onboard |
Remarks |
| 5 March 1936 | Beechcraft B17L Staggerwing | NC15486 | 2/2 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in fog and burned |
| 10 December 1943 | Douglas RA-24A | 42-6706 | 2/2 | Crashed onto Fourche Mountain in fog |
| 28 February 1945 | Beech AT-17C | 43-49982 | 3/5 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 31 October 1945 | Douglas R4D-7 | 99834 | 14/14 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 10 April 1949 | "Single Engine" | unknown | 0/4 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 14 November 1950 | Navy R4D? | unknown | 6/6 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 5 February 1951 | North American T-6D | 42-84311 | 1/1 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 7 October 1961 | "Light Plane" | unknown | 2/2 | Crashed onto Black Fork Mountain |
| 29 April 1967 | Cessna T-41 | 67-15141 | 2/2 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 26 January 1968 | Mooney M20 | N5225B | 4/4 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 11 November 1969 | Cessna 172 | N7180T | 1/1 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 28 December 1972 | Piper PA-28 Cherokee | N4899T | 2/2 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 30 April 1973 | Cessna 172 | N20318 | 3/3 | Crashed onto Brush Heap Mountain in bad weather |
| 27 September 1973 | Convair 600 (240D) | N94230 | 11/11 | Texas International Flight 655 - CFIT in IMC onto Black Fork Mountain |
| 13 March 1975 | Bellanca 17-30 Viking 300 | N4930V | 4/4 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in bad weather |
| 20 February 1976 | Piper PA-24 Commanche | N6396P | 1/1 | Crashed onto Rattlesnake Mountain |
| 2 December 1983 | Cessna 310K | N310JD | 1/1 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain |
| 15 February 1984 | Cessna 414A | N6815Z | 2/2 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in IMC |
| 20 February 1985 | Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II | N8658E | 1/1 | Crashed onto Fourche Mountain during IFR approach |
| 22 April 1985 | Cessna 310G | N8942Z | 2/2 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain after structural failure |
| 15 November 1987 | Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee | N9131J | 1/1 | Crashed onto Fourche Mountain in IMC |
| 15 March 1993 | Piper PA-23-160 Apache | N4341P | 0/3 | Crashed into terrain 12 mi NW of Mena Intermountain Airport due to airframe icing at night |
| 9 December 2002 | Beechcraft 1900C | N120YV | 3/3 | Crashed onto Fourche Mountain in bad weather |
| 15 December 2003 |
Beechcraft H35 Bonanza |
N7929D |
1/1 |
Crashed into north face of Black Fork Mountain during
VFR Approach to Mena |
| 21 March 2006 | Beech C23 Sundowner | N2160W | 1/2 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain in fog |
| 11 November 2008 | Cessna 177RG Cardinal | N2526V | 1/1 | Crashed onto Rich Mountain |
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