Recovery group marks 70th anniversary of ditching of B-25 bomber in Mon River

There’s been no trace of the aircraft since it sank in the river on Jan. 31, 1956.

By BRIAN C. RITTMEYER
TribLive

It’s been 70 years since a B-25 bomber ran out of fuel, splashed down on the Monongahela River near today’s Homestead Grays Bridge and was never seen again.

A group fascinated by the story, and not giving up hope that the plane or parts of it may yet be found, gathered to the day and the hour to observe the anniversary Saturday at the Courtyard by Marriott at The Waterfront, a location that Steve Byers said is not far from the plane’s suspected resting place in the river.

Byers, of Delray Beach, Fla., is one of about a dozen members of the B-25 Recovery Group. He said they gathered to reflect on what he called a sensational part of Pittsburgh’s history.

“It’s buried under the bottom of the river and it’s calling out, ‘Don’t forget about me,’” he said.

According to the Heinz History Center, the B-25 Mitchell bomber had traveled across the country on a training flight from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada to pick up parts at Olmstead Air Force Base in Harrisburg. It refueled in Oklahoma.

The crew reported a loss of fuel over Pittsburgh on Jan. 31, 1956. Not able to reach Greater Pittsburgh Airport or Allegheny County Airport, it splash landed on the Mon.

While all six crew members survived the crash, two, Capt. Jean Ingraham and Staff Sgt. Walter Soocey, drowned trying to swim to shore in 34-degree water. Their bodies were found months later.

Charles Lucas, 85, of Munhall remembers when it happened. A lover of airplanes, this was his first time attending one of the recovery group’s events.

“It was all over the news. No one knew anything about if they were going to pull the plane out of the water,” he said. “I’m surprised divers haven’t found it.”

Lucas remembers hearing stories that the military secretly removed the plane from the river — stories Byers said are not credible.

“Whether that’s true or not, who knows,” Lucas said.

A Coast Guard cutter snagged a wing of the plane, but the line slipped and the bomber was never seen again. Search efforts over two weeks failed to find it.

Because the wreck was not a hazard to river navigation, it was left behind, Byers said.

There have since been about a half dozen efforts to locate the plane.

“We have not found anything,” Byers said.

None of the crews’ families have participated with the recovery group, Byers said.

There is belief the plane settled into a deep, dredged out hole in the river, that has silted over. The once heavily polluted waters of the Mon may have dissolved the bomber’s aluminum frame, leaving only more durable parts such as the engines, propellers and landing gear.

Or, more optimistically, it could be buried and preserved.

No new search efforts are presently in the works.

“We are always looking for that opportunity,” Byers said. The recovery group is now largely fraternal, said Matt Pundzak, a Pittsburgh area native living in Winchester, Va. He hopes they can inspire a new generation using modern technology to pick up the search.

“It’s still an interesting problem that hasn’t been solved,” he said. “It’s a hell of a good legend, isn’t it? It’s a good story.”

Dawn Harder, of Carrick, was hearing the story for the first time. Calling herself “completely naive,” she came to the gathering with her boyfriend, T.J. Harris, because a friend, Lee Robinson, was playing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

“I’m kind of excited. I had no idea something like this happened,” she said. “I’m excited to learn something completely new.”