The relatives of 16 people who died 51 years ago when their airplane crashed into the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico returned to the wreck site yesterday to remember.

TWA Flight 260 struck the mountains shortly after leaving Albuquerque on February 19th, 1955, killing the three Kansas City-based crew members and 13 passengers.

Among those revisiting the site yesterday was Larry DeCelles. The former Kansas City resident and T-W-A pilot spent years trying to clear the names of the pilots involved in the crash.

Aviation investigators initially suggested the pilot's path into the mountains had been intentional.

But DeCelles gathered evidence that an onboard compass may have deceived the pilots and that the mountains were hidden in clouds.

In 1960, the Civil Aeronautics Board shifted blame for the crash to ``reasons unknown.''

Relatives say returning to the site allows them to heal.