David Steeves
David Steeves (1934 – October 16, 1965) was a U.S. Air Force lieutenant and experimental aircraft test pilot. He is best known for an incident in 1957, when he was unjustly accused of giving a Lockheed T-33A trainer jet to the USSR during the Cold War.
Lieutenant Steeves was ordered to fly a jet from Hamilton Air Force Base near San Francisco, California to Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama on May 9, 1957.[1] Something went wrong with the jet and Steeves was forced to eject and parachute out, landing in Dusy Basin, Kings Canyon National Park, near the 12,000 ft. level.[1] Badly injuring both ankles, for 15 days he crawled nearly 20 miles over impassable mountains without food in freezing weather down the Middle Fork of the Kings River.[1] He found a ranger's cabin at Simpson Meadow that had fish hooks, beans and a canned ham.[1] Meanwhile the military declared him dead, having been unable to find any trace of the plane or Steeves.[1] 52 days after the accident, Steeves was found by a pack-train guide near Granite Basin and brought out of the mountains on horseback.[1]
When the Air Force could not find any wreckage, Steeves was accused of giving the jet to Russia or shipping it piecemeal to Mexico. Even though no charges were brought against the lieutenant, he requested discharge from the Air Force, which was granted.[1]
After returning to civilian life, Steeves found work flying experimental models of new aircraft and designing his own craft. Steeves moved to Fresno, west of where he ejected. In the following years, he flew over the Sierra again and again on his own, looking for any sign of the wreckage.[1] In October 1965, Steeves was killed at the Boise, Idaho airport in the crash of an aircraft he designed.[2]
In the summer of 1977 some Boy Scouts from Los Angeles on a hiking trip in Dusy Basin in Kings Canyon National Park came across an aircraft canopy. In October the following year it was announced the serial number on it matched the missing T-33A jet that Steeves had piloted, finally vindicating his story. When his mother and his widow were notified they were elated, because now his children would have good memories of their father.[3]
As of June, 2014, no more wreckage has been found.[4][5]
Author Eric Blehm is reportedly at work on a book about Lt. Steeves.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Steve Harvey (October 17, 2010). "Hero or hoax? Public doubted pilot's story of survival". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Accident Claims Life of Pilot Who Survived 54-day Ordeal in Wilds". Ogden Standard Examiner. 18 Oct 1965. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ↑ "Wreckage clears survivor's name". The Pantograph (Bloomington, IL). 14 Oct 1978. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ↑ Murphy, TJ. "The Mystery of Lt. David Steeves". GetOutThere Magazine. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ↑ "Day #1: The Search for Lt. Steeves Missing Jet (June 14th, 2014)". Wordpress.com. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
Final Flight: The Mystery of a WW II Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen in the High Sierra, by Peter Stekel, Wilderness Press, 2010