page_title: Aviation archaeology
section_title: History of aviation archaeology and current issues
hierarchical_section_title: Aviation archaeology / History of aviation archaeology and current issues
caption_attribution_description: English: B17 turbocharger, crash debris
context_page_description: Aviation archaeology is a recognized sub-discipline within archaeology and underwater archaeology as a whole. It is an activity practiced by both enthusiasts and academics in pursuit of finding, documenting, recovering, and preserving sites important in aviation history. For the most part, these sites are aircraft wrecks and crash sites, but also include structures and facilities related to aviation. It is also known in some circles and depending on the perspective of those involved as aircraft archaeology or aerospace archaeology and has also been described variously as crash hunting, underwater aircraft recovery, wreck chasing, or wreckology.
context_section_description: The activity dates to post-World War II Europe when, after the conflict, numerous aircraft wrecks studded the countryside. Many times, memorials to those involved in the crashes were put together by individuals, families, landholders, or communities.
  Crash sites vary in size and content; some may have fuselages, engines, and thousands of parts and debris.  Other sites, like in civilian/commercial crashes, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will have almost all of the aircraft and debris removed; which makes aviation archaeology more challenging. Remains of military aircraft crash sites may also be removed by various aircraft restoration groups, particularly if the aircraft was found largely intact. In general, most recent-day (since the 1980s) aircraft crashes are removed entirely, due to environmental regulations, leaving very little to indicate the existence of a wreck.
  For example, military crashes in Arizona originate from numerous air bases, past and present. Because of the warm and sunny weather, much of the U.S. Army Air Forces flight training was located in the state, both during and after WWII. Numerous air bases dotted the states – creating conditions for numerous training accidents.  Old abandoned US Army Air Corp auxiliary fields and those converted to city municipal airports provide archaeological sites to be researched and investigated.
  Keeping a record of a crash site, such as photographs, maps, journals, logs, and all terrain and weather recordings are essential, i.e. the Glenwood Springs, Colorado, B-17 crash site or the Tells Peak, CA, B-17 crash site.
  The internet is an ideal media for sharing, recording, educating, and promoting aviation archaeology as a hobby, as well as research projects for local and state aviation historical groups. For identifying aircraft type and manufacturer by part numbers and manufacturing inspection stamps can be analysed.  From detailed GPS data & maps, to researching accident reports information, numerous resources help create a complete picture of the historic event.  Accident reports, such as the official US Air Force Accident Report Form 14 becomes the foundation of archaeology research.  From there, newspaper articles, county clerk records, sheriff & coroner reports, and library records all aid an aviation archaeologist in their research.
caption: B-17 turbocharger, crash debris
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