Pioneering aviator Robert Fowler’s crumpled airplane in 1911, after it crashed in Alta, California, in the Sierra Nevada mountains. He was trying to fly across the country in an attempt to win $50,000 that had been offered by William Randolf Hearst for the first person to fly across the country. In addition to strong mountain winds, a spark plug wire came loose, and he lost power, forcing him into a crash landing. What a marvelous photo with the dapper Fowler and what appears to be an ad hoc welcome committee of residents in front of the crumpled machine.

Fowler had taken off from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Polo Fields on September 11th and managed to land in Auburn, where the next day, he resumed his attempt. He managed to get close to Donner Pass, but the headwinds from the mountains and mechanical problems forced him to crash land into pine trees, where he was temporarily caught in his plane. The machine was taken to Colfax, where the local rod and gun club members helped repair the plane. There is a plaque in Colfax, right by the train station, mentioning this aviation history.

On September 23rd, after 10 days of repair to the airplane, he took off from Colfax to continue his journey east. He reached an altitude of 5000 feet until he reached Blue Canyon where he increased his altitude to 6000 feet. He attempted to cross the summit for two hours but could not get the speed or altitude and had to return to Colfax.

On September 24th, Fowler again took off headed for Donner Pass but found the winds that day even more treacherous than during his previous attempt. On this attempt, he reached an altitude of 7500 feet but was forced to turn around and land at Carpenter’s Flat at Emigrant Gap. Below we can see the plane with a group of people enjoying what looks like a picnic around the flying machine. Imagine how exciting it must have been for these mountain folks to witness this historic event taking place in their little corner of the mountains.

Fowler made a third attempt on September 25th, where he reached an altitude of 8000 feet when he was again confronted by fierce winds between Cisco and Tamarack and was forced to turn around and head back to Carpenters Flat, where he broke a landing skid.

Below we see some cowboys and others checking out the newfangled flying machine.

Fowler eventually made the cross country trip, but it was done using a southern route from San Diego where there were no mountains as high as the Sierra to contend with. His cross-country flight was completed on February 8, 1912, in Jacksonville, Florida after the deadline, and the prize expired without a winner.

Despite not having won the prize, Robert Folwer’s attempts to cross the Sierra Nevada have gone down in history as one of aviation’s great feats. In 1918, Robert Fowler established the Fowler Airplane Corporation, located on Howard Street in San Francisco. He died in 1966 in San Jose, California, at the age of 81.

The map above shows Carpenter’s Flat, which is just behind the buildings along Laing Road. This area is historic as Laing Road was the Overland Emigrant Trail, The Lincoln Highway, and eventually Highway 40. Today it’s a lonely exit off Interstate 80 with a restaurant, post office, and a ton of history out back.

All photo’s used with permission of Norm Sayler, Donner Summit Historical Society.