HICKAM AFB, Hawaii - A search and recovery team from the U.S. Army
Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii will deploy to Papua New
Guinea early next week to excavate a crash site of a World War II
B-24D aircraft that went down in 1943 with nine service members.
This is the same site a previous CILHI team attempted to excavate
in May [2003] when operations were suspended
after the helicopter contracted by CILHI crashed.
The 11-member CILHI recovery
team conducting the excavation of the wreck of B-24
42-40972,
in the
mountains near Yalumet Village in the Morobe Province
during an investigation in April 2002.
The B-24 bomber and its crew are believed
to have belonged to the 43rd Bomb Group, 63rd Bomb Squadron. The
aircraft left Dobodura, New Guinea on a armed reconnaissance mission
flying over Kavieng, New Ireland and was returning to Dobodura
when it disappeared. A pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier,
and five gunners were aboard when the aircraft crashed.
The 35-day deployment
will be challenging as the team base camps near the site that is
located at an elevation of approximately 10,800 feet. Upon completion,
the remains and personal affects found will be returned to the Central
Identification Laboratory.
