Gary Pat Macha has updated and revised...

Gary Pat Macha has updated and revised “Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of California--1909-1996,” his 1991 guidebook to locating historical aircraft crash sites.

The Huntington Beach resident, who teaches history and geography at Hawthorne High School, is California’s premier aircraft archeologist: someone who identifies and documents wrecked or abandoned aircraft.

The 213-page trade paperback ($19.95) lists about 1,400 crash sites in California’s mountains and deserts--from a sightseeing hot-air balloon that crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains in 1909 to a Beechcraft BE-35 that disappeared in a storm near Squaw Valley in 1996.

The book, which includes more than 80 photographs, is available in aviation specialty stores, Barnes & Noble and Borders Books and Music in Orange County and through Info Net Publishing in Dana Point: (714) 489-9292.

Macha, 51, stumbled upon his first wreck while hiking in the San Bernardino mountains in 1963: a C-47 air cargo plane that crashed into Mt. San Gorgonio in a snow storm in 1952, killing all 13 men on board.

He has since visited hundreds of crash sites, many of the wrecked planes in overgrown, hard-to-find locations. He says he enjoys the challenge of the search, and there’s always the thrill of discovery.

“It’s a step back into time, especially the old sites,” he says. “It’s a great way to revisit that moment in history.”

At some point, Macha says, “there will be another book dealing with all the western states.”

There’s already a video, “Lost but Not Forgotten,” a 50-minute production narrated by Macha and featuring footage of crash sites from 1930 to the present. The $19.95 video was made by Wreck Finder Productions, a small video production company in Seal Beach. It also can be ordered through Info Net Publishing.

Not all airplanes that have crashed in unpopulated areas of California have been found. Take the P-40 Tomahawk that crashed in the Sierras in 1941. “People,” says Macha, “have looked for years and years.”

Macha was recently contacted by relatives of Lt. Gertrude Tompkins Silver, a Women’s Air Force Service Pilot (WASP), who disappeared in October 1944 while delivering a P-51 to Arizona.

She was last seen taking off from Mines Field on what is now Los Angeles International Airport.

“The family is still troubled and would like closure,” says Macha, who suspects that the newly married Silver’s plane is at the bottom of Santa Monica Bay.

“I looked at the microfilm for weather that day,” he says. “In late October, it was heavy overcast. Her takeoff was at 4:45 in the afternoon, right near sunset, and I believe she went up in the clouds west of the airfield. She may have become disoriented and entered the bay vertically.

“There were 41 women pilots who lost their lives during the war in accidents, in training and flights. She’s the only one who’s never been accounted for.”

This Week

* Taylor Smith, author of “The Best of Enemies,” will sign at 1 p.m. today at Mystery Ink/Upchurch-Brown Booksellers, 384 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach.

* Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa, author of “Brain Longevity,” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Monday at Borders Books and Music, 429 Associated Road, Brea.

* Lois V. Nightingale, author of “My Parents Still Love Me Even Though They’re Getting Divorced,” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Barnes & Noble in Metro Pointe, 901 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa.

* Dan Barden, author of “John Wayne: A Novel,” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Barnes & Noble in Fashion Island, 923 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

* Mark Victor Hanson, co-author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” and Barb Schwarz, author of “If You Wear Out Your Body, Where Will You Live?” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Barnes & Noble in Triangle Square, 1870 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa.

* Mindy Marin, author of “The Secret to Tender Pie: America’s Grandmothers Share Their Favorite Recipes,” will sign at 6 p.m. Thursday at Barnes & Noble in the Huntington Beach Mall, 7777 Edinger Ave.

* Louann Murray, author of “Southern California Romantic Weekends,” will speak and sign at 7 p.m. Friday at Coffee, Tea & Mystery, 13232 Springdale St., Westminster.

* William A. Gordon, author of “The Ultimate Hollywood Tour Book,” will present a slide show lecture at 7 p.m. Friday at Super Crown, 30622 Santa Margarita Parkway, Rancho Santa Margarita.

* Lawrence Block, author of “The Burglar in the Library,” will sign at 1 p.m. Saturday at Book Carnival, 348 S. Tustin Ave., Orange.

* Writer Barbara DeMarco Barrett will conduct a six-week writing critique group on alternate Saturdays beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday at Local Grounds Coffee House, 3007 East Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. Fee: $125. To preregister, call Barrett at (714) 760-8086.

* Diana L. James, editor of “Bounce Back,” will sign at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Metro Pointe, 901 South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa. James’ book is a collection of 39 inspirational stories told by people who have recovered from setbacks. She will be joined by nine of the people whose stories are told in her book.

* Monica Brett-Serle, author of “Journeys Come in Many Colors,” will read and sign at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Fashion Island, 953 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before event to: Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, Life & Style, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.