Sierra Pacific Unsolved Mystery Plane Accident Killed 2 'Bewitched' Crew Members & 34 More in 1974

On 'Bewitched' set with makeup artist Rolf Miller (left), Elizabeth Montgomery, hairdresser Peanuts & Robert Montgomery (Elizabeth's father)Photo byPinterest.com

[Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all commentary and quotes in this article are from an interview conducted by the author with those mentioned.]

Overview

On March 13, 1974, Sierra Pacific Flight #802 crashed into Poleta Ridge, in the foothills of the White Mountains, near Bishop, CA. All 36 occupents aboard were killed. Those included Emmy-nominated Bewitched makeup artist Rolf Miller, the show's periodic actor and stunt performer Janos Prohaska, his son Robert, and others who were then-working on the ABC/David Wolper Primal Man television show. The cause of the chartered Sierra Airlines Convair CV-440 aircraft accident was never determined and remains a mystery.

A Closer Look

To this day, the Sierra Pacific Airlines Flight #802 crash remains one of only three aviation accidents to be unsolved by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and it stands as the fourth-deadliest crash of a Convair CV-440 to date.

The Wolper Productions Inc. film crew aboard was being transported from Bishop to Burbank. The flight was being conducted under VFR conditions. It could not be determined why the flight crew did not maintain a safe distance from hazardous terrain.

The production team was working on a series of one-hour TV specials, titled Primal Man, about mankind's rise and development from the basic primate. The third one-hour episode, which was to be called, "The Struggle for Survival." The segment was to explore the development of Australopithecus, man's early ancestor, and their survival, from four million years ago to modern times and the enusing environmental threats.

Primal Man was sponsored by the Travelers Insurance Company, and co-produced by Jack Kaufman Productions. The show required filming in mountainous terrain, in order to accurately reflect the desired Ice Age setting for the special's characters in a specific sequence.

The price paid, however, was an extreme loss of life, as eyewitnesses later said the aircraft exploded into a ball of flame.

Montgomery's Bewitched Memories or Primal Man Team

Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery (who died in 1995) was "devastated" upon learning of the loss of both Rolf Miller and Janos Prohaska (who had appeared incognito in episodes like "Allergic To Ancient Macdeonian Dodo Birds" (11-16-67).

Janos Prohaska in bird-garb with 'Bewitched' cast Dick York (1st Darrin), Agnes Moorehead, Elizabeth Montgomery, Erin Murphy & Bernard Fox.Photo byPinterest.com

However, she was particurly close to Miller, who received an Emmy-nomination for his work in the Bewitched segment, "Samantha's Old Man" (12-3-70) in which Montgomery and co-star Dick Sargent (the "Second Darrin," and who died in 1994) were transformed into senior citizens.

"Rolf was my buddy," Montgomery said in an interview from 1989. "I saw him every day, and now I miss him every day."

Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick Sargent, in Emmy-winning makeup by Rolf Miller, in the "Samantha's Old Man" episode of "Bewitched."Photo byApple TV

Elizabeth Montgomery in full-senior-make-up regalia created by Rolf Miller for the "Samantha's Old Man" episode.Photo byPinterest.com