Hike to Site

Lloyd Cripe

Friday 24 April 2009 we hiked to the crash site of HP-762, a Cessna 172 that crashed on December 23 of 2007 in the District of Boquete, Panama resulting in 3 fatalities and 1 casualty (a young girl named Francesca Lewis).  Group members for the hike were Manuel Burack, Miguel Burack, Lloyd Cripe, Jack Doyle, and Carlos Kattengell.  The purposes of the hike included having an adventure, viewing the crash site and marking the GPS coordinates.

The Burack brothers were volunteer search and rescue persons that originally found the crash site and were the key players in the rescue of Francesca Lewis.  They were born and raised in the District of Boquete and spent a lot of time exploring the mountains.  They know the area well and have successfully searched for other aircraft accidents.  They are outdoor types who are very dedicated to search efforts. 

Miguel was the first person to find the crash site at about 1600 hours on December 24 of 2007 the day after the accident.  He and his brother had spent that day searching a canyon to the south of the ridge. He thought he spotted some metal in a tree on the ridge so he and his brother separated and Miguel went up to the ridge where he eventually came upon the crash site. He spent the night at the site with Francesca Lewis the only survivor. She had already spent the previous night alone injured and trapped in aircraft debris. He protected her and tried to keep her as warm as possible.

Manuel found Miguel early the next morning at about 0500 hours.  Together, they carefully removed Francesca from the aircraft and eventually carried her below to a waiting helicopter in the farm pasture.  Although a number of persons were involved in the overall rescue effort, the fact is that the Burack brothers were the real persons that found and rescued Francesca.  She basically owes her life to them.  Since the accident rescue both brothers have visited the crash site several times. 

Each time the Burack brothers visit they stop in the pastures of the farm below and pick lilies to place at the site.  For them the crash site is associated with deep memories and is a solemn place of respect.  Because of their experience, we asked them to guide us to the crash site.

The weather for the day as we climbed the ridge was a mix of mild to moderate northerly winds and light intermittent rain. Temperature was chilly. We wore light rain gear the entire day and never felt too warm despite the vigorous climbing exercise.

To begin the hike we drove about a mile past the Park Ranger Station at the park entry and parked along the roadside in the Alto Chiquero area.  We began walking about 0615 hours at an elevation of 6265 feet.  We used an older handheld Garmin eTrax Vista for recording the waypoints.  It took us nearly 5 hours of  constant climbing to reach the crash site.  The trail was poorly developed with the first half basically a muddy cow trail to a high altitude farm and the other half a limited brushy trail up a steep ridge with steep slopes to deep ravines on each side.  Without the help of the Burack brothers, it would have been extremely difficult if not impossible to find the site even with the previous existing coordinates.

About a third of the way up we came to a small cattle farm.  The forest was cleared many years ago but the fallen hardwood trees still lay moss covered in the pastures.  The pasture just above the farm is were the largest helicopter landed during the search and rescue evacuation.  Farther up is higher pasture where a smaller helicopter landed. 

After the uppermost pasture, the path climbs steeply into heavier thicker rain forest.  We gradually climbed the ridge until we came to the accident site just off the right of the ridge at 8495 feet of elevation.  The airplane struck a very tall large tree.  When Miguel first got to the site on December 24 of 2007, the engine was lying near the base of the truck along with other debris.  At that time, the tail section was positioned downhill below the tree heading north.  The wings were folded back on each other and hanging high in the tree.  Now the engine is gone (taken out for the accident investigation) and the wings have recently fallen to the ground just below the tree on the north side.  The tail boom lies a bit farther north downhill below the wings.  Various pieces of debris can be found around the area surrounding the tree. 

Both Jack Doyle and Lloyd Cripe obtained GPS coordinates and elevations for the crash site.  Jack used his laptop computer and Lloyd his older model Garmin eTrax.  There was considerable variance between their measures.  The area has a moderate tree canopy and there is steep terrain on both sides of the ridge.  This probably interferes with precise measures and may explain why there is quite a bit of variance between all the coordinates that have been published regarding the accident location.

We had both fun and serious moments.  While at the site, Lloyd awarded each person with a surprise Snicker Bar for their successful climb.  Miguel was awarded a second Snicker Bar for originally finding the accident site and spending the night with Francesca. He was declared a hero. The mix of steep terrain and heavy forest made finding the site a near miracle.  We had solemn moments of silence and sadness as we stood at the base of the towering tree hovering over the site. Fortunately, with the Burack brother’s efforts and a lot of good fortune, Francesca survived.  Unfortunately, the other 3 in the airplane did not. In some ways the tree that claimed lives is a monument to both the death and life that surrounds the area. It will no doubt be standing there with its strong limbs spread out quietly enshrouding the area long after visitors have passed on.

The walk down the mountain was another challenge that took us 3 hours.  We slipped a number of times on the steep muddy parts, but eventually we got back to our awaiting Jeep.  We were tired and sore, but satisfied that we had met the challenge successfully.  It was a powerful experience. We were glad we did it, but not certain that we would ever do it again!