The American River Canyon lies directly under the air corridor between Sacramento and Reno, Nevada.  Over the years, there has been dozens of aircraft  meet with misfortune  over this area, and ended up littering the steep walls of the canyon as unsalvageable wreckage.

     One section of the canyon in particular, contains the remains of at least three World War II Military Air Transports that crashed while enroute between McClellan Field in Sacramento, and Reno Army Airfield in Nevada.  The stretch of Canyon, known as Giant Gap, has steep rugged walls that go down at a seventy-degree angle for more than  two thousand feet.  It is not an easy place to hunt for aircraft wreckage.  Only the heartiest Wreck Chaser would attempt to descend into the depths of this canyon on a hot summer's day.

     The only way into this section of canyon, is by the Green Valley Trail, which was cut by the Forest Service decades ago.  It's a beautiful hiking trail that goes all the way to the bottom.  It then crosses the river by foot bridge,  and continues  up the other side.  If you're a strong hiker, with good legs, you could make it to the bottom in about an hour of steady walking.  Coming back up, for the occasional hiker, is pure torture.  I don't recommend anyone making that trip who is  not in the best of health, and is accustomed to such strenuous hikes.

     One wreck site in particular attracted my attention while we were doing research on another site near Truckee, California.  Primarily because the wreckage has not been relocated after the original crash investigation was completed in June of 1945.  It's possible  the occasional deer hunter has stumbled upon the site, but as far as we know, the site had not been found and examined by an aviation archaeologist, despite three known attempts. Our team found, documented and photographed the site in the fall of 2000.

     I refer to this site as "The Lovers Leap C-46A," because the aircraft  came to rest  across the canyon from a prominent local attraction high up on  the north slope known as  "Lover's Leap."  This rocky outcropping has stood guard over the canyon for millenniums.  It serves as a natural monument to the three airmen whose lives were cut short when their C-46A exploded and fell burning from the sky above.

    You'll read the full story of this accident in the new book, "Aircraft Wrecks in The Mountains And Deserts of California" (3rd edition), by G. Pat Macha and Don R. Jordan.  You'll also see many of the unbelievable photographs we took of the wreckage when it was finally located.

    This new book is now available  from Info Net Publishing,  Don R. Jordan, or any retail book store.