Cessna 310B N3603D Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge 30 November 1968

It was a snowy, foggy day when George Boyd and his wife Anna took off from Lawton, OK, for a conference in Las Vegas, NV. George, the president of Boyd Aviation in Missouri, was instrument rated, but the NTSB summary indicates no flight plan was filed. The flight was short, though, as the airplane collided with Mt. Lincoln, about 20 NM northwest of the Lawton airport. Though the fire would have been intense, the airplane was not found for three days, by an Army helicopter on a training flight. The airplane had not been reported missing at the time it was found.

One of the first pieces of wreckage I saw amongst the rocks was this engine exhaust.
Mike McComb photographing a piece in the valley below the impact site.
Zooming out shows the large granite boulders that are typical of the Wichita Mountains.
The area where the 310 hit the mountain has pockets of burned debris and molten aluminum.
Many parts are still recognizable, like these pins from a cannon plug.
Connector pins, hardware, bits of wire, glass, and molten aluminum.
From the impact point, looking southeast toward Lawton. It was from there that the 310 took off, and this is the probable route of flight before impact.
Looking eastward across the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. The prominent peak in the middle of the photo is Mount Scott.
Standing at the impact point, I heard an airplane far overhead.
A Southwest Airlines 737, heading eastbound.
Mike found this fragment from one of the propellers.
I couldn't help but notice the gouge from where the prop would have bit into rock.
A small collection of parts near the impact site. The local knowledge of the crash site seems to be a mix of fact and legend. Many know that an airplane crashed here, but few seem to know the details.
Half of a snap ring.
I found a couple of these at the site. It resembles a fuse, but I haven't seen one like this before.
The cracks and crevices in the granite were hiding spots for many small pieces.
The Cessna 310B used green tinted glass for the aft window and the rear passenger side windows.
We found several pieces of that glass...none of which were much bigger than a quarter.
Remains of a bolt hole.
Fragment from a medicine bottle.
Mike, on the rocks.
Fitting from a fluid line, either fuel or hydraulic.
Some of the wreckage was hidden amongst the boulders. Mike says he has a picture of me as I went in head first to examine these pieces!
All that remains of this control cable pulley is the bearing; all of the phenolic is gone.
Pieces from the interior of the plane.
Section of piano hinge.
Common Collared Lizard, Crotaphytus collaris
Larger, heavier pieces are in the valley below the impact point.
I'm thinking this may be part of a bellcrank...needs a bit of research.
Part number 70842106-x97
Sometime since my last visit about 5 years ago, wildfire had also visited the area. I remember seeing a piece from the airplane's interior around these trees...the piece told me the inside was blue and confirmed for me that it was a civilian crash site (I didn't know the airplane type when I first visited about 8 years ago). I couldn't find that blue vinyl piece this time.
Inspection plate.
One of several crumpled pieces that speak of the violence of the crash.
A spring and adjustment mechanism from one of the front seats.
All that remains at the site today are fragments. But seeing this large piece of molten aluminum makes me think that there wasn't a whole lot of large wreckage to recover after the crash.
I have no idea what this is. Mike thinks that it may have been terminals to the batteries.
Stamps on one end.