Jan 27,1949, Apolinar Ortega, parachutes in Wisconsin blizzard
Chicago Tribune, page 1, January 28, 1949:
"AIR FORCE BOMBER CRASHES IN WISCONSIN BLIZZARD: 3 BAIL OUT....
Madison, Wis, Jan 27 (special) -- A blizzard choked both engines of a B-25 bomber en route from Minneapolis to Dayton, O., at 5:30 p.m. today.As the sputtering motors quit, the three air force men aboard bailed out.The plane then dived into the ground, smashing to bits, less than 150 feet from the farm of Sam Alme, on U.S. highway 14, one mile north of Brooklyn, Wis.The crew floated to safety at widely separated points within a four mile radius of the wreck.
The aircraft, piloted by Lt. Robert Scudder and co-piloted by Lt. H. M. Swanson, had left Minneapolis at 3 p.m. bound for Wright-Patterson air force base.Pvt. Apolinar Ortega of Georgetown, Cal., a "hitch-hiker" picked up at Minneapolis, was the third man aboard.
The three parachutists said they were wind buffeted and blinded by snow until within a few feet of the ground."