Plane crash that killed Carole Lombard Gable on Mount Potosi 75 years ago revisited

[@michaelwhisman7623]

Luther Thornton of Tiplersville, MS was a soldier who carried Lombard's body off the mountain. He said that Clark Gable cried but still spoke to him and the other soldiers and thanked them.

[@SenorZorrozzz]

Maybe he carried the remains in a body bag. They did have remains in bags in the photos. Her body was ….there wasn’t much left to it.

[@ceceliecamarillo9226]

All those on board were burned, right?

[@Hi-lb8cq]

​@@ceceliecamarillo9226???...why would that matter?!?!...smh

[@mrFalconlem]

Um they died from blunt force trauma dimwit. Burned after probably. Be glad it was quick

[@kimbradley9595]

The love of his life

[@lemorab1]

Thank you for this. Those closeups of the cigar burns on the bar and the broken flying instruments that should've helped the pilot miss the mountain are absolutely haunting.

[@2HRTS1LOVE]

Aww, seeing those cigar burns where he was drinking til he passed out, waking and drinking more, all day is just heartbreaking. She was only 34, idk how long they were married. Rhett will always be my first crush, my mom took me to see GWTW when it played in a theatre when I was about 7, had no idea it was such an old movie at that point, I just loved everything about it, still one of my all time faves.

[@xxwhispersxx2856]

They got married in '39 but were together two years before that, so technically 5 years all together.

[@mariec.albuquerque6446]

They had married only three years earlier. Carole was 33 years old when she died. At the time, she wanted to build a family with him, but she couldn't get pregnant. Then this accident happened. I love this movie too, I'm almost a fanatic of the classics.

[@citizen1163]

Thanks to the good people who care and make these films (and to those who post them on youtube).

[@moogdome2562]

So sad. he really loved her. thank you for sharing.

[@b3j8]

Carol Lombard was from my hometown of Fort Wayne In. Her home is open occasionally for tours. She was a great actress beautiful and sassy. Clark Gable was deeply in love w/her and was never the same after her death.

[@tomitstube]

very rugged terrain, especially in 1942, no roads, lots of loose rock and steep embankments, they flew right into a rock wall, 200 mph into a rock wall that did not move... it would have been a gruesome scene.... they didn't have a chance, never knew what hit them... clark gable attempted to climb it himself but gave up. middle of january almost 8000 ft up, snow covered, made it that much worse to reach the wreck.

[@rdbjrseattle]

The pilot was familiar with route from Boulder City to LA but not Las Vegas. The pilot departed Las Vegas on a heading he would have flown from Boulder City which put him on a collision course with the mountain. He didn’t fly the radio course like he should have.

[@michaelstratton6701]

To be realistic, the down drafts of the mountains can drastically affect your control of a smaller aircraft, turbulence may have played a role in this

[@canyonair]

Raymond Brown He actually was familiar with the route from Las Vegas to LA, which adds to the mystery of why the plane was allowed to fly off course.

[@rdbjrseattle]

@@canyonair His flight plan showed a course from Boulder City to LA but he flew that particular course from Las Vegas and hit the mountain.

[@canyonair]

Raymond Brown Yes, my point was that Capt. Williams was familiar with both routes to LA/Burbank. In fact, he had recently been observed by a TWA check pilot flying the Las Vegas to LA/Burbank route at night and during the day. No one knows why they flew off the radio range course, but I think it’s probable that the course deviation was intentional by Williams to shortcut the route and save time. The flight was already hours late from the multiple delays beginning in New York. Williams was a good pilot, but he did tend to not follow TWA directives to the letter. I’ve been working on this particular project since the mid 1980s. I’m the guy they interviewed and helped put this particular video/story together for the 75th anniversary of the accident.

[@windstorm1000]

@@canyonair then what caused him to deviate.

[@cmwillisful]

I have flown over that same mountain range. At times there can be very strong turbulence which can pull you down. I wonder if that happened to them.

[@lewisparker4488]

I think there is a better video out on this accident and I seem to remember they were prevented from flying the path they normally departed the area and this was a strange route for them.

[@RaoulThomas007]

Witnesses on the ground reported sputtering of one of the engines...

[@gregh7457]

@@RaoulThomas007 "on the ground" ??? that area was and still is very remote and mountain goats don't talk to reporters

[@RaoulThomas007]

greg h You’ll have to do a little reading...

[@Van_The_Man]

My Great Uncle Perry was on the initial Civil aviation Investigation team as an crash investigator. They trekked up to the site. 2 main comments were that it was C-O-L-D and that in the final report he disagreed with one of the findings and his theory was not published. I have a aluminum fragment from the crash site.

[@lawoman1067]

May they rest in Heavenly peace.

[@Halad49]

There was a man from my hometown who died on that plane, was a young pilot.

[@janhart1592]

😢

[@susanb2015]

Many soldiers died.

[@susiepittman601]

Her mother was with her and terrified of flying. She begged Carole not to get on the plane but Carole insisted. They both died.

[@Johndoe345-k2d]

lol

[@robertbruce1887]

@userjclis6srlw: lol!!!! What's so funny about people during in an aircraft. Please explain the humour?

[@robertbruce1887]

Meant to say dieing in an aircraft

[@mariec.albuquerque6446]

​@@robertbruce1887 Maybe he's laughing at the irony of it? Not necessarily laughing because people died.

[@Spicy-y9z]

He's probably laughing because he's a democrat hun.

[@renatacantoregross6283]

Although I am saddened to hear how Carole Lombard - Grable died I am so proud to know that she was a Heroine. I mourn her & Clark anew.

[@kathysharpe7339]

Very well said

[@Bradley-sl1mp]

I didn't know she died that way. I'd heard of her & of course, Clark Gable. I'd seen her in a movie but I'm in my 20s so I'd probably not be expected to know of everyone from that time. Either way, it is sad that happened. Life seemed good for her then it all ended too fast. One thing about it is most likely though. That is people on that plane probably had no idea anything was wrong & it happened so fast, no one suffered. I sure hope that's true.

[@Rick-or2kq]

I read a very interesting twist to this tragedy, that Lombard was flying back to confront Gable on rumors that he was sleeping with Lana Turner, she was supposed to get back on the train the next day to head back to Hollywood, but was in a rush to get answers from Gable, so she took the flight.

[@vikkinicholson2300]

sounds like it may have happened given all the sleeping around in Hwood., but if he was so very much in love with her to the point of such grief, unlikely he was w/Turner, but one never knows.

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

I've read this also. Lana Turner denied it was true, but if it were, it would be something they both took to their graves. I mean, given the outcome, would you admit it? Regardless of any casual sex he might have been having, it seems clear that her death was devastating for him and he mourned her loss for the rest of his life.

[@Rick-or2kq]

Maybe some of his mourning was the fact he was having an affair and was thinking Oh my God, I should have been with her and I was with someone else?

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

@@Rick-or2kq Yes. I imagine that's distinctly possible.

[@donnebes9421]

Marilyn from Tarot Clarity rumors provide many possibilities, but there’s only one truth. And apparently, nobody knows what that is.

[@PatrickSherman-dg6co]

I read where Clark lost his cool after her passing and was riding his Harley- Davidson up and down Hollywood Blvd at 80 + miles an hour

[@shelleyhaertig6380]

Yeah I think that he was probably trying to kill himself but not on purpose if it just happened fun accident

[@jmatt4life]

I was unaware of this tragedy. So sad to know!

[@kenowens9021]

David Niven gave an emotional account of this event in his 2nd memorial. It really tore Gable up.

[@onlythewise1]

gable was never the same

[@onlythewise1]

@@conniewolf7300 YEP , back then positive things was so good to help keep going , thanks for saying it . im not the same my brother died father died and mother dam it sure hurts , much luck to you

[@mk11xgameplays44]

This is such a sad story. Never knew about this happening.

[@melthedog6969]

Very nicely done. Thank you for posting this. I remember my mother telling me about the crash after the first time i saw "Gone with the Wind". Being one of her favorite movies(and mine)i was intrigued by the accident and its effect on Clark Gable. Your video gave me info that i had not previously known. Again, thank you!

[@jamessimms415]

I did a Senior Adult Lifetime Learning class on her death/this incident, I dovetailed Gable’s service as part of the class. My understanding the normal radio airway beacons were turned off because of the threat the Japanese could use them to find targets. This was roughly a month before the ‘Battle of Los Angeles’ & the Japanese sub shelling of oil fields on the coast. Gable made two more movies, then volunteered for duty as a B-17 Gunner. He took a serviceman’s pay & cut off his trademark mustache per regulations. He then was assigned to a Hollywood film unit, sent overseas to produce a movie on the need of aerial gunners. He shot so much film, it took forever to edit; that by the time it was ready for theaters, there was no need for gunners.

[@billbrimmer1739]

Such a shame. She was out helping the war efforts.

[@laurenurban3942]

Gable was devastated by her death. They were soul partners. Very sad.

[@juliechase2047]

How much experience did the pilots have for night flights?

[@marcdenton2996]

“Tweed” Wilson of the present day Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, who was extremely knowledgeable about the terrain, served as guide for the rescue party.

[@cynthialewis7460]

Yep

[@arkay9113]

I'm not sure I believe Gable ever set foot in the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings...but it makes for a good story to tell. Also cigars don't stay lit for long.

[@80carolegriffin]

My mom named me after Carole Lombard. She said she was a wonderful actress.

[@Ackziegaming]

As someone with pilot training, I can tell you that it was a pilot planning error that caused the accident. They were using the same heading as if they had refueled in Boulder (which was the original plan) but was changed last minute due to not being able to see the runway as they did not have lighting at that airport at the time. When they took off from Las Vegas, they did not change their heading from the oringinal which caused them to strike the mountain.

[@pleabargn3645]

Had the same pilots flown that entire distance with so many stops? Pilot fatigue could have contributed to the crash.

[@charlottebuchanan3193]

No. The flight crew changed multiple times.

[@canyonair]

pleabargn Not likely. This flight crew took over in Albuquerque. Captain Williams flew the first leg and Co-Pilot Gillette was flying the plane when it struck the mountain.

[@harrycarrey5124]

unfortunatley back in those days there were only 7 licensed pilots in the entire world and one of them was legally blind.

[@kathryneast6919]

I saw a video on You Tube that showed jewlery from the crash site this man found and kept.I didn’t think you could do this.

[@jaynekranc8607]

There are no heirs.

[@ccfdmd]

Should be treated as a gravesite. Leave their stuff alone

[@robertbruce1887]

Thank you for this short video. The cigar burns that Clark Gable left on the bar are touching, and seeing what's left of aircraft's instruments, finding out if the pilot had used these properly then they wouldn't have crashed into the mountain, answers a lot of questions about what happened on that fateful flight. So, so many fatal air crashes involving celebrities where the pilots lacked knowledge in instrument flying. Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jim Reeves ( he was actually flying) Kobe Bryant, & now, to my sadness the beautiful Carole Lombard. All these tragic deaths completely unnecessary.

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

Don't forget Lynyrd Skynyrd. That crash was so avoidable. Fuel starvation.

[@cfapps7865]

Thanks.

[@juliecollins9333]

❤️ So sad 😭 R. I. P. 🙏❤️

[@lisamurphy5770]

Excellent video!!!

[@quickchris10comcast]

Too bad the crash was just prior to black-box-analysis technology.

[@wormhole331]

No need for a black box in this case. It was navigational error. This flight usually lands in Boulder city and then leaves to burbank at a heading of 218 degrees. Well they landed in Las Vegas and used the same heading which went right into the mountain. The filed flight plan proves they used the wrong heading

[@canyonair]

The aircraft had an early version of a Black Box known as a Flight Analyzer. They recorded basic information: Speed, Altitude, Heading and Climb/Descent. The device was not crash worthy and was destroyed in the post impact fire.

[@quickchris10comcast]

You would think the controller with whom they filed the flight plan might have said something.

[@canyonair]

Christina M There was no ATC radar back then and nothing on the aircraft to alert the pilots of the mountain.

[@quickchris10comcast]

@@canyonair Sir, isn't it strange to imagine that, and the lack of radio communication back then?! When I think of WWII planes looking for a carrier on which to land, the Japanese and the Americans in the South Pacific having to "eyeball" carriers, getting lost and crashing, etc.? They didn't even have transistors. The context change from generation to generation is unimaginable.

[@williamharvey784]

So sad.

[@kilcar]

It should be foremost in people's minds that Carole Lombard and Clark Gable were Patriots. Carole worked tirelessly for USO and War Bonds causes. Clark Gable enlisted in the Army Air Corp and flew combat missions over Nazi occupied Europe. He was removed from combat roles as the Military was fearful of the possibility of his capture if shot down. Gable and either Lombard or a previous girlfriend used to visit my aunt's " Lu- Claire" beauty salon and Clark would chat with her while she was being attended by my aunt's Lu Noland and Clara Nelson in Portland Oregon in the Yeon Bldg. Gable had worked across the street at the Meier & Frank building as a tie and men's furnishings salesman.Previous to or afterwords he had been working in the logging industry.

[@jamessimms415]

Hitler was a huge fan of Clark Gable, & offered a $250,000 bounty if he were captured alive.

[@charlottebuchanan3193]

This was a nice little video. I just finished Fireball.

[@good1day726]

The audio version is really good too.

[@michaelgaynor6866]

Resting in the Arm's of our Lord Jesus Christ and in Peace, Carole Lombard and Clark Gable. Together again!

[@charlottebuchanan3193]

Amen. Theirs is such a sad story. I loved the poem 'The Underside' that was read at her funeral. We never know the Lords plans but he knows.

[@sint0xicateme]

I dunno, Clark very probably raped Loretta Young. I wouldn't want to be in a heaven with rapists; but then again, I don't really believe such a place exists.

[@suzycreamcheesez4371]

Bolsheviki then it's no problem for you! Yay!

[@DanielLee-yu1li]

Clark Gable spent most of that time drinking in his room not at the freaking lounge. That is a b.s. legend.

[@jilliancrosbie5677]

This woman was so beautiful and awesome. It horrific how she died. We love you Carole Lombard 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@oliviajohnjohnolivia8142]

Clark Gable was the best looking man alive.

[@stephenrobinson9252]

With those ridiculous ears and the moustache?

[@littleredwitch]

Left at 7.07pm , impacted Mt Potosi at 7700ft.

[@peterpitula4398]

Her mom died on the same crash

[@tomjones7089]

Sad situation...

[@travelwithtony5767]

Interesting story..thanks for sharing. 👍

[@Alessandro-tk2ll]

Un riverente omaggio a questi due grandi artisti. Carol bellissima e bravissima e Clark il Re. Ci mancano molto. Carol sicuramente sarà diventata un bellissimo angelo. E Clark cavalca affianco a Carol su un bellissimo cavallo.

[@spenner3529]

A film idol’s sorrow is always more significant than that of an ordinary person.

[@lindsayhengehold5341]

Love both Carole Lombard & Clark Gable

[@767driver]

If you plot and fly the wrong course no compass is going to be able to help you. Fortunately today we have GPS data that alerts us to terrain.

[@blondthought5175]

Well, at least she didn't know it was coming. (I guess that helps.)

[@ejammy1906]

In a different documentary, it was explained that Carole's mom was very afraid of flying and wanted to take a train but Carole was eager to get home so they flipped a coin.

[@libertyann439]

I bet there's a point in the last seconds before a crash when realization comes and goes in the end.

[@rdbjrseattle]

It was a bad case of “Get homeitis” and sleep deprivation. Wrong course, heading, true, magnetic? Uncorrected magnetic course? Pilot let copilot fly without double checking? Who knows?

[@stevensiferd7104]

Vacuum tube technology would have required an inverter to increase the 28 volt battery power to 250 volts for the plates of the tubes. Modern inverters use a circuit called a multivibrator. Until the late 1950s, vacuum tube circuits used mechanical vibrators, electromagnetic devices that used a metal armature to switch the polarity of the battery power back and forth. These vibrators were notorious for dying at any time. If the radio and the Sperry radio compass had both been powered from a single inverter, both would have gone dead simultaneously making the flight crew blind, deaf and mute. Their only responsible action would have been to circle back to the airport, which may be why they flew off course into that mountain.

[@waynerudolph8797]

Another distinct possbility.

[@alberttrentjr2427]

Such a sad s tory for all involved...i share a Birthday with Carole!😥

[@garycallihan4206]

I share a birthday with no one.

[@zofiarenner6185]

Nieodzalowana Carolla Lombard ..

[@marcelqqq]

Pointing with finger is so professional.

[@adhoc9647]

In 1966 BOAC flight 911 Boeing 707 was literally torn apart by Mount Fuji's air turbulence. All perished. Just FYI.

[@daniellinehan63]

Those numbers again-911,191, etc.

[@gterrymed]

Odd that the NTSB didn't investigate; there are ideas that there was foul play involved

[@onlythewise1]

every body liked hats back then

[@johnnycash578]

I never knew this happened so sad wow the burns in the bar ARE just crazy A COIN TOSS OH MY IMAGINE HOW MUCH PAIN IF ONLY SHE LOST THE TOSS COULDVE BEED SAVED ITS MAKING ME SICK!!!

[@kenclark9888]

The “FAA” Guy says it was unknown if the crew used the radio compass. Well it looks like they didn’t or if they did they didn’t use it properly

[@annbyrd1159]

He had 2 children, not just one. Loretta Young had his first child, a girl w/extra large ears. Loretta had them fixed w/plastic surgery. Gable only visited her one time, which I never understood. Otherwise he was a pretty great person and the best looking ever!😢❤ GWTW LIVES FOREVER

[@SenorZorrozzz]

2:40 amazing. Sad.

[@josephdupont]

Could the pilots been incapacitated by carbon monoxide? I looked up the moon and there was no moon that night. The next day the pilots would have been able to have seen the moon and maybe the mountain Potosi.

[@wormhole331]

No they filed a flight plan with a heading straight into the mountain. It was a mistake

[@hughdismuke4703]

We'll never know if the compass was used to avoid hitting the mountain? In my mind 'the plane hit the mountain'.

[@tungstenkid2271]

Sadly the pilots made a simple nav mistake, there's another youtube vid explaining it.

[@gwarn1]

I didn't go to any fancy ivy league colleges or nothing but if the plane was cruising at 8000 feet and the mountain was 7700 feet shouldn't the plane have cleared the mountain?

[@annbyrd1159]

They are buried side-by-side.😢

[@JessicaGarcia-oj3pc]

Had these pilots never driven this route before?????

[@chookfeather]

Jessica Garci driven? I think flown maybe?

[@abigailaldea7956]

Think warning lights on the mountains were intentionally shut off due to threat to Japanese bombing as this incident happened on WWII. This a risk these pilots are confronted when flying during these times.

[@shirle7343]

Abigail Aldea ,thanks.

[@waynerudolph8797]

Michael McComb who studied this crash carefully, states above that Captain Williams had flown this route before, during the day and during the night.

[@KathyGarcia-r3p]

Drag on and on

[@SAM-dm5qg]

TERRIBLE. NEEDLESS AND SENSELESS!!! ☹️ 😥

[@cynthiahutto1500]

I did not know this, omg how sad!

[@shelleyhaertig6380]

If they were burnt they're asking a question that's all it is so chillax

[@canyonair]

Good to see this video is still up and making the rounds although the Pioneer Saloon’s story of Gable drinking and burning holes in the bar is pure bunk nonsense. Never happened.

[@waynerudolph8797]

Yes, he most likely avoided the bar and the reporters.

[@good1day726]

@@waynerudolph8797 he was there long before reporters, being next of kin and finding out and flying out soon after she didn’t arrive in Burbank.

[@josephdupont]

She died because there was no moon out that night and the crude was pilot and co. Pilot could not see the mountains they crashed into. Has there been a moon out? They would have seen the mountains in this window have happened bad luck

[@stephendoing2253]

Sad story

[@clarenceivins2128]

foal horizon same thing happened to buddy Holly crash.

[@romanclay1913]

Was making the classic anti-nazi satire, TO BE OR NOT TO BE, a factor in this tragedy?

[@waynerudolph8797]

World War II conspiracy theory which is most likely nonsense, at least in my opinion.

[@tigersteele9552]

IF HE WAS SO IN LOVE WITH HER.....WHY DID HE FOOL AROUND??

[@seanobrien2306]

Hello..., You took items' from a plane crash death site.., that seems very unprofessional ! ! * The site of the plane crash.., is also a (burial site), since not all body parts were recovered from the crash scene or site.. It is also a (memorial remembrance site) and should (NOT) be disturbed, including taking parts or items' from the plane crash site.. * Rest-in-peace Carole Lombard Gable, crew members' and all passengers'.. Be respectful to all who died.. Sad.. Sad for all... :(

[@waynerudolph8797]

I am being superstitious now, but that seems to be bad luck to the takers going forward.

[@KatharinaK117]

The cabale killed her...

[@nukapuka]

Why? Because she was a Gentile?

[@kenowens9021]

She could only be identified by her ear rings.

[@tevita2373]

Now free 🚀🗽

[@HobbitHomes263]

so to say so to speak so to say

[@kaylaleave]

Lol

[@cdream5414]

If she had lived a long life, she would have died an old woman going through many pains. Dying young is terrible, but the old age hates it.

[@xxwhispersxx2856]

I think she would have loved the pains.

[@iiiiiccccc]

@@xxwhispersxx2856 fully agree. What a loss at the time...

[@Pottawattamie]

Would rather grow old with all that goes with it.

[@waynerudolph8797]

Think of the career and people memories she would have had. At age 33, she already had a collection.

[@SenorZorrozzz]

Cry😢

[@davidheitman7004]

i'm gonna challenge the burn marks. lol.

[@Ralphie5023]

EL OREJON ? 👂

[@JonahGeideman]

❗🚨🍎💟🍎🚨❗

[@amazingandrea9983]

Sound like he is pronouncing it LOS Vegas, not LAS Vegas.

[@RaulRodriguez-gt4dp]

L