Cherokee National Forest Closure

[TNhiker]

this came down today..



CLEVELAND, TENN – October 5, 2017--- The U.S. Forest Service is closing a portion of the Tellico Ranger District in Cherokee National Forest to public entry. The closure will remain in effect while the U.S. Navy is conducting an investigation of the October 1 crash of an aircraft from the Naval Air Station in Meridian, Mississippi.

The temporary closure order applies to the following areas:
1. FS-RD 210 - Tellico River Road from Pheasant Field Picnic Area to Stateline Campground
2. FS-RD - Beaverdam Bald Road
3. FS-RD 61 - Whigg Meadow Road
4. FS-RD – 40841
5. FS-RD – 40921
6. FS-RD – 2417 – Big Cove Branch Road
7. Benton MacKaye Trail #2 from Sandy Gap to Mud Gap
8. Kirkland Creek Trail (#85)
9. Whigg Ridge Trail (#86)
10. Brookshire Creek Trail (#180)

The Donley Cabin (access to cabin only), Dam Creek Campground and Spivey Cove Campground (access to campgrounds only) will remain open.

For information about the closure area call the Tellico Ranger District at 423-254-8400.

[Tipi Walter]

Wow, for a crash that happened at the fish hatchery to scatter all the way up to Brookshire Creek is amazing. Or all the way up to Whiggs Meadow and Mud Gap.

[TNhiker]

the exact point of the crash hasnt been determined, i believe...

along with a huge debris field since this sucker could have pulled 650 mph if it wanted to....

[Analog_Kidd]

I kayak the upper Tellico River all the time, and have had those jets blast past us on a couple of occasions. They'll come out of nowhere, drop in over the ridge and follow the river. They are loud as hell, and shook everything. Quite an impressive sight.

[tvance0645]

Wow, for a crash that happened at the fish hatchery to scatter all the way up to Brookshire Creek is amazing. Or all the way up to Whiggs Meadow and Mud Gap.

Word I have heard is missing parts to possible include ordinance....


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[egilbe]

Losing a nuke makes everyone's puck factor to amp up a bit.

[tvance0645]

Wow

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[blw2]

wow, that does seem like a rather wide area.... I understand debris fields could be scattered, but I'd think they would have a bit tighter handle on where.... of course that's based on a guess that it was a low level incident. I haven't heard about what happened.
Anyway, prayers out to the victims, families, and the folks working the incident.

[tvance0645]

The really interesting fact is in the closure area is included two previous crash sites, John's Knob where a C141 had a controlled flight into the terrain testing a new radar system in the early 80's and Whigg Meadow where I believe either a B29 or B17 crashed in the late 40's or early 50's.

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[Tipi Walter]

Really gonna mess up the BMT thruhikers.

[blw2]

The really interesting fact is in the closure area is included two previous crash sites, John's Knob where a C141 had a controlled flight into the terrain testing a new radar system in the early 80's and Whigg Meadow where I believe either a B29 or B17 crashed in the late 40's or early 50's.

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Maybe the researchers are trying to determine if this is an auxiliary Bermuda Triangle zone..... (Que twilight zone music...)


Wonder how long it will be closed. Any guesses?

[Tipi Walter]

Too bad the entire Cherohala Skyway isn't also closed . . . permanently.

[martinb]

This has a Close Encounters of the Third Kind feel.

[gpburdelljr]

Word I have heard is missing parts to possible include ordinance....Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

The T-45 is a training aircraft. It is typically not armed, but can carry dummy practice bombs.

[TNhiker]

The T-45 is a training aircraft. It is typically not armed, but can carry dummy practice bombs.

Yeah...

and most of the rumors about losing ordinances has come from non credible sources---ie locals....

[tvance0645]

Yeah...

and most of the rumors about losing ordinances has come from non credible sources---ie locals....

I think the issue is flight path prior to a controlled flight into terrian... Loss of external fuel tanks to prior to crash if the plane tree topped prior impact
I heard the rumors about weapons but probably a reconstruction issue

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[dickdurk]

Losing a nuke makes everyone's puck factor to amp up a bit.

That escalated rapidly

[Traffic Jam]

Very sad. The pilots were really young.

[PatmanTN]

Thanks to TN Hiker for alerting me to this closure. I had actually planned a Brookshire/ Kirkland loop for this weekend.

[Time Zone]

That escalated rapidly

Perhaps because it's happened before in the southeast:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash