Complaints May Ground Recovery of Old Planes : Aviation: Archivists want an extensive survey of the aircraft before a salvage firm removes them from Los Padres forest.

Plans to remove the wreckage of 60 planes--including pieces of two dozen World War II-era aircraft--from northern Ventura County forests have been put on hold because of complaints from airplane historians, U.S. Forest Service officials said Wednesday.

Al Hess, lands officer for the Ojai ranger district, said aviation archivists are requesting that federal officials complete an extensive survey of the historic planes in the Los Padres National Forest before allowing a Hawaiian salvage firm, Wreckfinders, to recover the crashed airplanes.

As a result, removal efforts might not start for at least several months, if at all, Hess said.

“The bottom line is, people feel these airplanes have historic significance,” he said. “We need to consult with a bunch of people to see which ones should be removed.

“It’s going to be a bigger project than we had thought, and we don’t have the time right now to deal with it,” Hess continued. “It’s just going to have to wait awhile.”

Terence Geary, the West Coast coordinator for Wreckfinders, said Wednesday that he was unaware of the delay.

“I’m just going to proceed right along until someone tells me different,” Geary said.

He said he is putting together a helicopter crew to remove the wreckage and plans to begin recovery efforts before December.

Several months ago, the salvage firm requested permission from Forest Service officials in Ventura County to remove all the airplanes, especially the relics from the World War II era.

Company officials said they want to sell the scattered remains of the old war aircraft for use in repairing the few vintage warplanes still flying.

Some of the 60 wrecks have been rusting away in the mountains for almost half a century, hidden from vandals and treasure hunters alike by the rugged terrain.

Local forest officials said they welcomed Wreckfinders’ offer because it would clean up the forest. They said they would allow the company to proceed with its plans after giving the public a chance to have its say on the issue.

But members of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, based in Wilmington, Del., stepped in to halt the project.

Richard E. Gillespie, executive director of the group also known as TIGHAR, said he called Forest Service officials in Washington and asked that the planes be left alone until extensive reports on their historical significance are completed and assessed by preservationists and federal officials. He said such studies are required under the Historic Preservation Act.

“We just don’t know what is out there in the Los Padres forest,” Gillespie said. “There could be all sorts of historical treasures lurking among the trees. The trick is to get someone in there who knows what they’re doing to treat it properly.”

The remains of the historic planes should be placed in a museum, Gillespie said.

“It’s not right for them to be picked over, torn apart and sold piecemeal simply for airplane parts,” he said.

But, Geary said, Wreckfinders will give aviation museums the option of buying the relics.

“We’re not going to go in there and tear everything apart,” Geary said. “Some will end up in museums.”