Crash Site

Image source; San Diego Air & Space Museum

The Flyin' Lion's crash site is located amid some of Arizona's most remote and rugged terrain in Upper Tonto Creek's infamous Hellsgate area.  As pilot Martin Jensen flew deeper into a narrowing canyon, he could see the Hellsgate rampart looming ever larger at the confluence of Tonto and Haigler Creeks.  Jensen knew his heavy plane could not fly over the cliffs and canyons ahead.  Jensen also knew there wasn't a flat spot to be seen.  So, he picked out the tamest looking terrain and made a snap decision to bring the Ryan B-1 Brougham down in a thicket of scrub oak trees deep in the yawning throat of a box canyon.

Aviation forensic experts will perhaps forever debate the "how" of Jensen's crash.  Some say he stalled the aircraft so that it dropped between the oak trees.  Others say he picked an open alley and plowed into the trees.  Whatever Jensen did, he somehow created a miraculous outcome for himself and the caged lion aboard.  Both survived.  Jensen went on to live a long, productive life and died at the age of 92.  The lion became MGM's first onscreen roaring mascot.  Both of those stories are for other blog posts.

This post looks at the crash site itself. Fortunately for future history buffs, The Tonto National Forest rather quickly renamed the crash site "Leo Canyon" in honor of the celebrity beast abound the ill-fated aircraft.  Leo Canyon is easy to find on old and modern USGS topographic maps.

 Above is a screen clip from the 1937 Promontory Butte 1:62500 USGS topo map

Above is a screen clip from the 1943 Diamond Butte 1:62500 USGS topo map.

Above is a screen clip from the 2014 Diamond Butte 1:24000 USGS topo map.

The above screen clip shows the general vicinity of Leo Canyon as see on Google Earth.

All USGS topo maps are sourced here:
https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/