Pilot  Lt. Kenneth W. Ambrose
Crashed  November 28, 1942
Discovery  1998 by Chad Norris & Ben Lynch

Aircraft History
The Lightning was assigned to the USAAF on September 4, 1942, where it flew out of various Army air bases in California and Washington State but put on most is its hours and final hours out of Elmendorf, near Anchorage.

Mission History
It was lost on a flight from Elmendorf Airfield in Alaska to Paine Field near Everett, Washington where it was to be overhauled with a new fuel tank. It never arrived. The Army reported listed it as condemned December 31, 1943 on its Aircraft Record Card.

Crash Site
The Lightning crashed into a steep hillside of the North Cascades in Whatcom County, in the Pasayten wilderness east of Mount Baker. It crashed in a horizontal position and the force of the impact flipped the tail section up hill and at the same time much of the aircraft's parts broke off uphill from the impact spot. A fire occurred at the impact spot but was confined to a small area. It is suspected the pilot was killed on impact, or after parachuting out of the plane.

Discovery & Crash Site
First discovered 1998 by Chad Norris and Ben Lynch. Who found 4 of the 5 guns and a great many parts that could be identified by their serial numbers. Parts of the cockpit were found but no seat, control wheel or parachute were discovered.

Chad Norris adds:
"We found no evidence of human remains but our time at the site was shortened by bad weather and thus a more exhaustive search might be in order. We photographed the site and documented the tail number. The hillside is littered in unspent 50 cal. rounds and thus no military clean-up has been done. The site has not been disturbed in 59 years."

Ben Lynch adds:
"At first I was exhilarated having spotted a World War II plane wreck on the steep hillside. Seeing machine guns, large 50 caliber ammunition laying everywhere and plane parts scattered is not what one expects find hiking out of the North Cascades. I came home and proudly told my friends what Chad and I found. Then after a year or two, I became aware through Steve’s work that there was a father and husband inside the downed P-38 cockpit. My attitude toward the wreck changed instantly. I sincerely thank Steve for his continuous effort in solving the mystery. His work has brought proper closure for Ambrose’s wife and daughter. I wish the Ambrose family the best and hold Lt Ambrose in highest regard."

MIA Investigations
This crash site was investigated by JPAC in late August 2004 as an MIA site. A recovery team deployed in mid July 2005 to perform a complete recovery of the remains of the pilot, along with an SBD crash site also in Washington State. This is the first Joint Field Activity mission in the continental United States since 1996. A memorial service for Ambrose was held in Philadelphia on May 18, 2006 and attended by his daughter, Kathleen.

References
Thanks to Ben Lynch, Stephen & Chad Norris for the profile, and Terry Geary for aircraft card reference.

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