Scene of wreckage Oct. 12, 1975, the day following the plane crash at Los Alamos County Airport. Passenger Tim Farmer dragged pilot Dick Malenfant unconscious from the plane saving his life. Now 91, Malenfant lives in Highlands Ranch, Colo., and no longer flies. Photo by Bill Geer
Scene of plane wreckage Oct. 12, 1975 at Los Alamos County Airport, the day following the crash that hospitalized pilot Dick Malenfant. He said that he continued flying for several years after the accident. Photo by Bill Geer
DICK MALENFANT
Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Formerly of Los Alamos
I read that article in the Los Alamos Daily Post (link 1, link 2) about the airplane crash at the Los Alamos Airport on Dec. 31, 2024. I crashed in a 1967 Cessna 150 at the Los Alamos Airport on Oct. 11, 1975. The description is given on page one of the Los Alamos Monitor (no longer in business), on Oct. 12, 1975 edition.
The airport in Los Alamos is one way (takeoff to the east and land to the west) with a restricted area to the south. The wind tends to follow the terrain – a southerly wind results in updrafts to the windward (south) side and downdrafts to the lee (north) side. When landing to the west, a go-around must be made to the north because of the restricted area to the south and houses to the west.
The runway has a slope west-to-east of about 15 feet. The combination of a gusting quartering tail wind (southeast at 15-20 knots), the slope of the runway, the elevation difference between the west end and the east end, and the downdraft just to the north of the runway resulted in my contact with a power pole and tree just off the west end of the runway when attempting a go-around.
I suffered injuries to my face from the tree and a compression fracture to the 12th vertebrae. The crash and burn resulted in the total loss of the airplane. I was dragged unconscious from the plane by Tim Farmer, my passenger who saved my life.
The article in the Los Alamos Daily Post brought the memories to mind.
Another scene of wreckage Oct. 12, 1975 at Los Alamos County Airport, the day following the plane crash that hospitalized pilot Dick Malenfant. Photo by Bill Geer