Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations Â»

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places Â»
The Murderer’s Birds!
Elgin Public Museum
Tynemouth Castle.
Tynemouth Priory and Castle
Fresco on the ceiling of the chapel.
Cappella Sistina
View southwest from the trilobite quarry out to Cadiz Valley.
Marble Mountains Trilobite Quarry
Loading...
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The view from the Q’eswachaka woven suspension bridge.
This Man Rebuilds the Last Inca Rope Bridge Yearly
Su filindeu doesn’t cook in strands, it cooks in sheets.
How the ‘Su Filindeu’ (or ‘Threads of God’) Pasta Recipe Was Almost Lost to Time
Eroded rocks of the badlands in the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park.
Arizona’s Petrified Forest Is Changing What We Know About the Dawn of the Dinosaurs
You could probably take some of that stuff out.
Dear Atlas: How Do I Pack Light for a Long Trip?

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Arizona Flagstaff Humphreys Peak B-24 Wreckage
AO Edited

Humphreys Peak B-24 Wreckage

The wreckage of a deadly bomber plane crash can still be found near an Arizona peak.

Flagstaff, Arizona

Added By
Arthur Zards
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Humphreys Peak B-24 Wreckage   zards / Atlas Obscura User
wings are visible in the rocky area near center. photo taken 1/18/21 at 1000ft AGL   markguycan / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Hidden away near Humphrey's Peak, the highest point in the state of Arizona, the remains of a plane crash that killed eight people can still be found, a junked memorial to their tragic accident. 

During the night of September 25, 1944, a U.S. Army Corps B-24 Liberator Bomber crashed into a boulder field near the top of Humphrey's Peak, obliterating the craft and killing the eight members of crew on board. The remote crash site, located high up, in a largely inaccessible portion of the slopes, was left essentially how it was when the crash occurred, with engine parts and silvery metal sticking out all over among the boulders.

Even today, the wreckage remains, although it has become no more accessible. Nonetheless, adventurous hikers who are looking for a unique and hidden memorial to a military tragedy, have still been able to locate the crash. According to some reports, engine parts, structural debris, and even an almost entirely intact wing can still be found littering the rocky field. On a sunny day, pieces may even be seen from the parking lot at the head of the Humphrey's Peak Trail, glinting in the sun. In the 1950s the USFS decided to dynamite the wreckage further distributing it over the mountain; this was due to increasing numbers of interstate travelers reporting a "new plane wreck" reflecting afternoon sunlight on the western flank of Mount Humpherys.

Hikers looking to seek out the wreckage should do so at their own risk. It is apparently not immediately easy to find, and traversing the boulder field can be treacherous. However, those that can locate the torn metal will be privy to one of the more remote memorials in the country.  

Related Tags

Airplane Graveyard Airplanes Hidden

Know Before You Go

Take the Humphreys trail about 7 switchbacks up. Once you get to the rock field, cross over it and take it till it ends. From here it's not real clear how to find it. You want to keep heading up the mountain while heading north. If you go too far north, not north enough or angle too steep, you will miss it. Keep your eyes open for the propellers of the plane. Once you find pieces of it, head straight up and you will enter a clearing in the trees and there it is.

Community Contributors

Added By

zards

Edited By

hrnick, zydeko, williammcfarland1117, markguycan

  • hrnick
  • zydeko
  • williammcfarland1117
  • markguycan

Published

July 31, 2015

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://azdailysun.com/overseeing-history/article_e4848cc6-8513-5112-9a80-09f1a5bb4b1f.html
  • http://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=598
  • http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/914588
  • http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/b24crash/b24crash.html
  • https://hikearizona.com/decoder.php?ZTN=598
Humphreys Peak B-24 Wreckage
Arizona Trail
Flagstaff, Arizona, 86001
United States
35.341007, -111.690219
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Humphreys Peak

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Highest Toilet in Arizona

Fort Valley, Arizona

miles away

Coconino Lava River Cave

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Flagstaff

Flagstaff

Arizona

Places 22

Nearby Places

Humphreys Peak

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Highest Toilet in Arizona

Fort Valley, Arizona

miles away

Coconino Lava River Cave

Flagstaff, Arizona

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Flagstaff

Flagstaff

Arizona

Places 22

Related Stories and Lists

20 Hidden Spots Inside America’s National Parks and Forests

abandoned

By Molly McBride Jacobson

8 Plane Wrecks That Have Become Their Own Memorials

airplanes

By Eric Grundhauser

Related Places

  • Concorde Nose from Ward Parkway

    Kansas City, Missouri

    Concorde Nose

    How did the front of a supersonic jet make its way to a display case in a Kansas City yard?

  • The mangled wreckage sat by Highway 5

    Mexicali, Mexico

    Boeing 727 Crash Experiment

    This mangled and twisted wreckage left by the side of a Mexican road was no accident, but a planned crash in the name of science and safety.

  • Churchill, Manitoba

    Miss Piggy Plane Wreck

    A crash site in the heart of polar bear territory has become a beloved local landmark.

  • opijnen

    Opijnen, Netherlands

    McCammonplein

    A unique World War II memorial commemorates where the American B-17 bomber Man-O-War crashed.

  • Movatn, Norway

    Dornier Do 17M-1 Crash Site

    The remains of a German plane still sit in the Norwegian wood where it crashed in 1942.

  • Wreckage of Beautiful Betsy - B-24D Liberator bomber that crashed at Kroombit Tops in 1945

    Valentine Plains, Australia

    Beautiful Betsy Crash Site

    For nearly 50 years this airplane that crashed during World War II remained missing in the remote Australian backcountry.

  • Derbent, Russia

    Ekranoplan Lun

    An enormous Soviet aircraft, the only one of its kind, stands at the deserted shore of the Caspian Sea.

  • Lucky Lady Lounge.

    El Mirage, California

    Aviation Warehouse

    Where decommissioned airplanes and helicopters go to become part of Hollywood.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.