History of Flight
On June 20, 2009, at approximately 1600 Alaska daylight time, a Beech V35A airplane, registration N7062N, departed Wolf Lake Airport, about 6 miles west of Palmer, Alaska. The flight was conducted under visual flight rules (VFR) as an international cross-country trip to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, with a final intended destination of Bettendorf, Indiana. When the airplane failed to arrive in Whitehorse as scheduled, a search was initiated in both the United States and Canada, and the FAA issued an alert notice for an overdue or missing aircraft. Cell phone records indicated the airplane may have traveled as far as Northway, Alaska, near the Canadian border, before the signal was lost. The airplane was reportedly equipped with a 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitter (ELT), not the newer 406 MHz type. Unlike the 406 MHz ELTs, the 121.5 MHz ELTs are no longer detectable by search and rescue satellites. On July 17, 2009, all official active searching for the missing airplane was suspended. No evidence of the airplane was found, and the airplane is presumed to have crashed. The pilot and sole passenger have not been located.
Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 68, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. His most recent third-class medical certificate was issued on November 1, 2007. No personal flight records were located. According to FAA records, on his November 1, 2007 medical application, the pilot reported total aeronautical experience of 1,850 flight hours, with 100 hours in the previous 6 months.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was a 1967 Beech V35A single-engine model. No aircraft logbooks were discovered for examination.
Meteorological Information
The closest weather reporting station to the last suspected position was at Eureka, Alaska. At 2136, the automated station reported: wind calm; visibility 10 statute miles; clouds and sky condition 4,100 feet overcast; temperature 7°C; dew point 1°C; altimeter 29.70 inHg.
Communications
The last known communication occurred at 1606, when the pilot opened his flight plan with the Palmer FAA Flight Service Station. The estimated time en route was three and one-half hours. No emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal was received by search personnel.
Search and Rescue
The pilot had filed an international flight plan. The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center in Anchorage, Alaska, and the Alaska State Troopers conducted extensive air and ground searches along the United States portions of the route. Official search efforts were suspended on July 17, 2009. Canadian authorities searched the Canadian segments from the Alaska border to the destination. Throughout the search, marginal VFR and instrument flight conditions hampered search operations. No sign of the airplane or its occupants was discovered. Family members and volunteers continued searching with no results.