 Burial site for the victims of the 1948 Los Gatos Canyon plane crash at Fresno Holy Cross Cemetery | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 28, 1948 |
| Summary | Fire, originating in the left engine-driven fuel pump |
| Site | Diablo mountains, west of Coalinga, California, United States 36°14′12″N 120°35′06″W / 36.2366°N 120.5849°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | C-47B-40-DK Skytrain |
| Operator | Airline Transport Carriers (under INS contract) |
| Registration | NC36480 |
| Flight origin | Oakland, California[1] |
| Stopover | Burbank, California |
| Destination | El Centro, California |
| Occupants | 32 |
| Passengers | 29 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 32 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On January 28, 1948, a DC-3 aircraft operated by Airline Transport Carriers with 32 persons on board, mostly Mexican farm laborers, including some from the bracero guest worker program, crashed in the Diablo Range, 20 miles west of Coalinga, California, killing all passengers and crew. The crash inspired the song "Deportee" by Woody Guthrie.[1]
Some of the passengers were being returned to Mexico at the termination of their bracero contracts, while others were illegal immigrants being deported. Initial news reports listed only the pilot, first officer, and stewardess, with the remainder listed only as "deportees."[1] Only 12 of the victims were initially identified. The Mexican victims of the accident were placed in a mass grave at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fresno, California, with their grave marked only as "Mexican Nationals".[2]
- ^ a b c Marcum, Diana (September 7, 2013). "Names emerge from shadows of 1948 crash". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ Wilkey, Robin (September 3, 2013). "'Deportees,' 28 Anonymous Mexican Farmworkers Killed In 1948 Plane Crash, Finally Named At Memorial". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2014.