Photo by Buddy Nash Wreckage from a crash that occurred the first year the Fly-In was held is seen high up on the slopes of Bald Eagle Mountain.
LOCK HAVEN — As aviation enthusiasts watch planes arrive and depart William T. Piper Memorial Airport this week during the 38th annual Sentimental Journey to Cub Heaven Fly-In, their eyes may be drawn to the rugged slopes of Bald Eagle Mountain, where the remains of a downed Piper plane remain, a poignant reminder of the first fly-in and Lock Haven’s enduring legacy of aviation.
On July 16, 1986, John Yaczko, 32, a Hazelton resident and pilot of 10 years, attended Lock Haven’s first fly-in. The fly-in now pays tribute to the town’s heritage as the former headquarters of Piper Aircraft Corporation, but at the time it was just a small reunion for fans of the Piper Cub, an aircraft once manufactured in town.
Known for its simple design and ease of operation, the small, single-engine, two-seater airplane is beloved by vintage aviation enthusiasts around the world. More than 85 years after its introduction, the Cub remains one of the most influential and popular aircraft designs in Piper’s history.
According to reports in the Hazleton Standard-Speaker and Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, Yaczko, a flight instructor and commercial pilot, had flown to Lock Haven that morning in his 1975 Piper Cherokee. He had planned to leave Lock Haven around 2 p.m. and return to Hazleton by 3 p.m. to attend a business meeting scheduled for that afternoon. However, bad weather developed earlier in the day than expected.
To avoid flying in dangerous conditions, Yasuko submitted an early return plan using the aircraft’s instruments and departed Piper Memorial Airport at 12:15 p.m.
Photo by Buddy Nash. Wreckage from the plane is seen scattered among rocks in the woods on the east side of Felsen Lake on Bald Eagle Mountain.
While climbing through the low-altitude clouds, he noticed one of his radios wasn’t working and became distracted.
There are various accounts of what happened next.
Reports at the time said the cause of the crash was wind shear (a difference in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere) that flipped the plane upside down, but a 2023 interview with Yaczko by the Hazelton Standard-Speaker suggested the accident occurred when the Cherokee’s right wing got caught in a tree on the mountainside.
He regained consciousness moments after crashing through the treetops of Bald Eagle Mountain, about 10 miles east of Lock Haven. Smelling gas and fearing the wreckage was burning, he kicked open the cockpit door and stumbled out of the plane.
When he bailed out of the plane and began walking to find help, he quickly realized the extent of his injuries. Yacko was not seriously injured, but he had five broken vertebrae, two broken ribs, and his right eye was swollen shut. During the descent, he spent hours traversing the steep, slippery, rain-soaked mountainside, holding on to trees and branches.
Photo by Buddy Nash. The wreckage of the plane is seen wrapped around a tree, with the tree growing over the metal.
He reportedly traveled for several hours to reach U.S. Highway 220, where he stopped to call for help. A college student and his girlfriend discovered him, and said they believed he had died in a chainsaw accident based on the amount of blood he had lost.
Upon arriving at Jersey Shore Hospital, Yaczko was swarmed by medical professionals assessing his injuries. Due to the severity of his injuries, Yaczko would need to be flown to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville or driven to Williamsport Hospital. Given the option, he chose to be treated in Williamsport, reportedly joking that he’d “been on enough planes today.”
He was hospitalized for 29 days and underwent several months of physical therapy, after which Yacko made a full recovery.
Nearly 40 years later, Piper Plane N32777 still lies belly-up on the mountainside, the plane remaining mostly intact due to the remote location of the crash site and the difficult hike.
The wreckage is about 900 feet from the base of the mountain, and there are no direct trails leading to the site. Anyone wanting to hike to the crash site will need a GPS and the exact coordinates (41.129646, -77.373703) to find the plane, according to a blog post shared by Dan Wagner on the Great American Hikes website.
Photo by Buddy Nash A drone photo taken near the wreckage shows the rugged, dense forest that Yaczko had to descend through to reach Highway 220. Lock Haven can be seen looming in the upper left.
Wagner, who blogs about hiking to the plane crash site, offered advice on how to get to the wreckage.
The longer, safer route (8.5 miles) is from Zindel Park via the Bald Eagle Mountain Trail. Wagmer said if you enter the coordinates into your GPS at the top of the Winchester Trail, you’ll go through about a quarter-mile of “rocky, densely wooded terrain” down the mountain to the crash site.
The second trail is similar to the one Yatsko took in 1986. Hikers can park on the shoulder of Route 220 near mile marker 114.6 and hike up the hill to the site. The route is only 0.75 miles but is very steep.
Hiker and blogger Heather Truckenmiller wrote about the hike: “It’s a terrifyingly steep descent and you need walking sticks to know where it’s safe to step. There are lots of rocks rolling and shifting, deep holes between the rocks are overgrown with moss that you don’t want to step in, and the leaves covering the ground are thick and slippery.”
Both hikes are suitable only for experienced hikers. For more hiking safety tips, visit www.nps.gov/articles/hiking-safety.htm.
For everyone else, look to the mountainside this week and remember that crash from so long ago.
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