Good day to refresh this thread, Jim. The "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos Canyon" happened about ten miles outside Coalinga in western Fresno County, California, on January 28, 1948. Nanci Griffith did indeed make a recording of Woody Guthrie's "Deportee" on her Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) album. The artists on the track were Nanci Griffith, Lucinda Williams, Tish Hinojosa, Odetta, Steve Earle, and John Stewart. Here's a YouTube recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpR4u9-Gd9Y

You may want to look at the other threads on this song, crosslinked up at the top of this page. This thread (click) includes a transcript of the New York Times article that inspired Woody Guthrie to write the song.

-Joe Offer-