FM-2 16012 crash near Vail AZ on January 13, 1944

Lieutenant (jg) R.F. Miller was ferrying a General Motors built FM-2 “Wildcat,” BuNo 16012, from Big Springs, TX, to San Diego, CA, on January 13, 1944. Lt. (jg) Miller passed over Vail, AZ, and was preparing to land at the Consolidated airport (now known as Tucson International Airport) when his engine died. The gauges still showed 25 to 30 gallons of fuel, so Lt. (jg) Miller attempted to restart the engine. Losing altitude, unable to start the engine, and unable to find a safe place to land, Lt. (jg) Miller successfully bailed out. After landing in the desert, Miller walked to Esmond Station and contacted authorities. (Remains of Esmond Station can be found SE of the intersection of Rita Rd and Houghton Rd.)

The Aircraft Trouble Report said the cause of the accident was 75% the pilot error and 25% power plant failure/fuel system. The pilot thought he had fuel, at least according to his gauges, to make the Consolidated airport. In addition, the Navy Board was aware of “obviously deficient fuel gauge“ in similar aircraft. The Trouble Board was aware that several other FM-2s being ferried also ran into fuel problems and were damaged. Those factors apparently did not matter as Miller was determined to be the cause of the crash. Miller could have fueled up in El Paso, but according to his gauges and a strong tail wind, he thought he could make it to Tucson. 2022/2023 update: As Vail keeps growing, the crash site was bulldozed over.

Remains of the FM-2 near Vail, AZ.

Some of the small pieces of debris at the crash site.

The old railroad track is just east of the Empire High School Ravens’ baseball field. Shoutout to the Ravens baseball players for knocking some of the baseball out of the park. I tossed the balls back into the outfield.

Wildcat in fight. U.S. Navy photo

Possibly a portion of the data plate from the FM-2’s Wright R-1820-56 Cyclone engine.

More of the small debris at the crash site.

After successfully bailing out, Miller followed railroad tracks north to Esmond Station (Papago Station). Esmond was a small railroad station between Tucson and Vail. Once at Esmond Station, Miller contacted the Civilian Aviation Authority to report the crash. You can still walk along the old tracks near the W. Anne Gibson-Esmond Station Station Library (aka the Vail Library) to the remains of Esmond Station.