Jim Reeves' Plane Crash Site

 

This is the Jim Reeves crash scene. This picture was taken a few days after the debris was removed in early August 1964. It was at the base of this tree that the nose of the plane made contact with the ground, gouging out a crater six feet deep (in the bottom foreground). Part of one of the wings wrapped halfway around the tree (and you can see evidence of where the bark was stripped and the tree scorched). The canopy of the tree at the top was not disturbed, and closed up again after the plane came through it vertically. Thus searchers flying overhead were unable to see the crash from the air.

Many fans have visited what they thought was the crash site, and some believe they've even found the exact tree. I know a lot of people have attempted to pinpoint the location through satellite maps online. Some folks apparently think they can just view photos of the site and figure out where it was.

In order to be accurate about this for my book, I have relied not only on interviews I've done with people who were part of the search effort, but also talked with federal authorities who participated in the official investigation. Most importantly, I have reviewed contemporaneous and very detailed notes they made about the debris field, with surveyor (or compass) coordinates.

From doing this research, I know that very few fans have actually identified the site correctly.

The bottom line to this is that Jim's plane went down on PRIVATE PROPERTY, which is still overgrown with greenery and hard to reach. In 1964, rescuers had to tear down part of a fence to access it, and it is even more difficult now.

Putting a marker here that would be some sort of remembrance for the average fans to view, would obviously be impractical. You can't just go hiking through the brush in search of this site without trespassing on private property.

Yet the scene is far enough away even from the closet streets and highways that it would make no sense to erect a marker along the roadways.

--Larry Jordan

Copyright 2007 by Larry Jordan. All rights reserved. No reproduction is permitted without permission.

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