A.E. Leonard, 1944
Maryville Times, (Blount Co. TN) Thursday, January 23, 1947:
“Bits Of Long-Lost Plane Found, Minus Traces Of Three Flyers---A wrecked airplane engine and a scanty amount of plane wreckage found in one of the most inaccessible parts of the Great Smokies Park area by members of the Hiking Club on Sunday is believed to be part of the single-engine Beechcraft Army plane, missing since Aug. 12, 1944, according to reports from the C.A.A. The plane carried civilian fliers: A.E. Leonard, pilot; S.R. Parham, co-pilot; Reuben Johnson, mechanic. No trace of the bodies has yet been found.
R.E. Dickens, C.A.A., said this morning that the Army plane had been leased by the Manhattan Corp., at Oak Ridge, and that the serial number of the plane would have to be cleared through Washington for positive identification.
“The plane can be definitely traced,” Dickens said, through its serial numbers, one of which will be that of the Pratt Whitney Corp., and the other of the Army. A wrist watch near the wreckage was the only personal belonging found, and was said to be in excellent condition.
It was first thought the wreckage might be that of the AC-78, a twin motor craft with four passengers, missing since Janaury, 1944, for which a wide search was made and several rewards offered by wives of the passengers. The lake at Calderwood was dragged more than once for wreckage two years ago. Four passengers disappeared with the plane.
It was earlier erroneously announced that the pieces found Sunday were parts of a reconnaissance plane which crashed taking photographs of a wrecked C-45, and in which the two passengers miraculously escaped death, with their camera and film still intact, Dickens said. The small craft was caught in a “downdraft” and wrecked beside the plane being photographed, the occupants suffering only minor injuries.
Ernest Dickerman, vice-president of the Hiking Club, who is an employee if the TVA in Knoxville, said the wreckage found is in one of the most rugged sections of the Smokies. It can be reached only on foot, he said, and is about a four hour hike from Gatlinburg.
The opinion has been expressed that the remainder of the wreckage may be found on the other side of the mountain known as Wooly Top.”
Maryville Times, (Blount Co. TN) Thursday, January 30, 1947:
“Search For Bodies Of Crash Victims Halted---Search for the bodies of three Oak Ridge men, believed to have been killed in an airplane crash in the Smoky Mountain Park in August 1944, was abandoned today, according to a statement made by the State Highway Patrol.
The wreckage, identified as the Army plane in which the missing men left the municipal airport, was found on Wooly Top by members of a hiking club more than a week ago.
Three search parties have failed to find any trace of the bodies. A charred shoe and a wrist watch are the only articles reported found that might have belonged to the fliers.
The men aboard the plane were A.E. Leonard, S.R. Parham and Reuben Johnson, all formerly of Charlotte, North Carolina.”