Mystery of the Missing Congressmen

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Use code thehistoryguy at incogni.com/thehistoryguy to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.

[@MahkyVmedia1]

I'd love to know what you think of project 2025

[@bobgillis1137]

It must have been just a coincidence that Boggs was a dissenting member of the Warren Commission.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

@@MahkyVmedia1 I am a historian. Ask me again around 2050.

[@MahkyVmedia1]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel if being a historian isn't against the law

[@douglashall2141]

​@@MahkyVmedia1then vote Trump

[@6omega2]

Conspiracy theories aside, let me say only this: 1. October is "very much already winter" in Alaska. And, 2. The weather in Alaska can turn suddenly dangerous in a heartbeat. I know both of these things from experience, as I have USAF flight time over Alaska, in air rescue.

[@absalomdraconis]

Well, here's to hope you spend more time in Florida.

[@FYMASMD]

My father who grew up in Alaska, said at the time, that people disappear in Alaska all the time. Usually because of a lack of respect for the climate and conditions. I personally know two pilots that had thousands of hours bush flying there that disappeared with no traces found. Alaska is HUGE!!

[@canyonroots]

Just like the oceans.

[@stefanie7823]

Unfortunately it’s very true. I was stationed in Fairbanks for a few years and whenever we’d get new folks in they were always warned to never venture out alone, especially in the winter.

[@robertbridges517]

Just before the loss, "FLYING" magazine had an article by the pilot about ...."Ice Without Fear". Jonz flew into known icing conditions in a plane that could (and probably did) turn into a brick from icing. While many theories abound, the best and easiest is that the pilot was too cocky and pushed his luck too far. As a pilot and living in Alaska at the time.... I saw the "Flying" article is a major insight into the pilot's mindset.

[@Renwoxing13]

Or Hear my insanity out. As usual they initiate the coverstory well before they use it, & sometimes before they even know if they will use it at all !

[@stanislavkostarnov2157]

I think the exact words would be: "someone in that plane was too cocky and pushed his luck too far" we are not 100% sure which of the planes occupants they were talking about.

[@justaguy6100]

It's amazing how pilots tend to be so rational and realistic in their thinking. Makes it hard on those trying to sell a conspiracy theory ;-)

[@UncleKennysPlace]

@@justaguy6100 Well, as I tend to read _all_ fatal accident reports, I find that pilots tend to be 100% human, pretty much every time.

[@justaguy6100]

@@UncleKennysPlace True dat. My Dad was a Lt. Colonel and WW II P-51 fighter pilot and, ultimate, flight instructor. Not much for the wild theories, he.

[@cbman4767]

Many years ago I was with search and rescue with an Air Search certification. We were called out for a missing aircraft between Cranbrook BC Canada and Fernie, BC. The aircraft was not found but a hunter tripped on the engine while hunting some 10 years later. It was ruled that the aircraft exploded in mid-air.

[@UncleKennysPlace]

Certainly many pilots have disassembled their aircraft in flight in bad weather. But unless there is a device onboard, it's unlikely it actually exploded. Do you have a link to the report on this? Because searching for missing planes in BC gets you a lot of matches!

[@Not_So_Weird_in_Austin]

Great presentation. My brother was an Alaska State trooper at the time, himself a pilot, had cited the Don Johns for lack of carrying emergency equipment required by Alaska law, and was by reputation a bad pilot...planes in Alaska dissappear on a regular basis many not found...Ted Stevens survived the crash and died from injuries before help could arrive hours later...

[@jayc4562]

The Air National Guard participated in this search. I was an air technician for them at the time. I know a person that was flying Anchorage at the same time Jonz was flying through. A very experienced pilot, he thought with the weather that Jonz never made it across Portage glacier. Don Jonz's girlfriend was going going on that flight but the aide bumped her off. She is still in Alaska. I'm a pilot myself and the people that I know who knew Jonz weren't impressed with his skills. That is how we got Young and all his baggage.

[@frankmoreau8847]

In 1994 the wreckage of a WW2 patrol bomber (a Lockheed Ventura) with a crew of 5, from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station was found by a hiker on Mount Baker, about 60 mikes from the Navy base . The Pacific Northwest is far more densely populated than that area of Alaska and Mt. Baker is an oft climbed and hiked mountain. It was 41 years from the time the Navy plane went down until the wreckage was discovered. It is not surprising at all that no wreckage of the Cessna has been found to date

[@marks1638]

When I heard them mention a recent maintenance inspection on Don Jonz's airplane, then I knew it was a maintenance issue that brought down the plane. When I was an Air Force aircraft maintenance technician, I noted that 90 percent of all maintenance issues were caused by previous maintenance by other technicians (sometimes even the same one). A bad wire (accidently cut by someone else), a loose connection (not reconnected properly by another tech), and my favorite a bad circuit board (that wasn't properly tested before or after install or installed improperly). Many aircraft incidents are prevented by pilots and ground crews doing a thorough preflight check looking for equipment anomalies, funny noises, strange vibrations, or even panels with missing fasteners. One time I was servicing a B-52 just back from depot and noted a weird problem in our Electronic Warfare System when the Navigation Radar was turned on, but only that system. Yet, neither system was connected to each other, yet one affected the other. Turns out it was a loose ground in the power panel, and it affected several systems but never at the same time (just randomly). Aircraft maintenance is a challenging field and must be done correctly and meticulously by the book.

[@mike89128]

Slightly off topic but related. When I was growing up in Chicago during the 1950s, The Chicago Tribune annually ran updates of a mother's search for her pilot son who disappeared on a flight to Alaska while in the USAF during the Korean War. Every year she would hire a search party to comb the woods around the estimated location of the crash after the pilot radioed his location. The plane was never found. This search was almost 20 years in length. The Tribune stopped running the story in the late 1960s. There are many plane wrecks that haven't been discovered due to terrain in the CBI "Flying the Hump," of WW2.

[@michaelwalton7776]

"Out of the blue in the western sky comes...Sky King'! Yep. I'm that old!😞

[@kennethrouse7942]

You're not alone! Let's not forget Penny and Clipper! 😉👍

[@coldlakealta4043]

great memories of that show - triggered a lifetime love of aviation

[@JeffDoan-h3e]

What was his daughter's name?

[@scotpens]

@@JeffDoan-h3e She wasn't his daughter, she was his niece Penny, played by Gloria Winters.

[@DarrylRuiz-s1w]

Me too did you have a crush on Penny?

[@mikep490]

Some people claimed to hear an airplane that got thru Portage Pass (his probable flight path). Mountains on either side of the pass *might* be near max alititude for this plane, depending on wing ice loading. Part of a tail section of a small plane was found by a fisherman hear Hutchinbrook Island (East of his flight) in 1980 but it "disappeared". (No one knows if it was from a Cessna.) He also wasn't carrying the mandated survival gear, since the plane was at, or slightly above, max weight. Jonz was an experienced/capable pilot, though he was known to "push his luck".

[@FuzzyMarineVet]

Lance, you call this history, but I call it memory. I was a freshman in high school at the time and the three networks all carried the story for days.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

I am sorry to inform you that your time in high school is now history... ;)

[@mikenixon2401]

You made me think of one day my granddaughter asked a question for her history lesson. History?! I was there. That's not history. Ha, Ha, Ha. Actually it was and she had an edge for her class. Thanks for being a historic figure with so many of us. Have a blessed weekend.

[@HM2SGT]

😅 Time Marches On and sneaks up on us. I just realized that I'm not too far from being the same age as Alec Guinness when he played Obi-Wan Kenobi... & Luke Skywalker is now 10 years older than that!

[@unclenogbad1509]

I know. It's like when the radio dj calls the next song a 'golden oldie', and I'm thinking: "What? I bought that single when it came out." Time, eh? But we're still young at heart, right?

[@HM2SGT]

@@unclenogbad1509 Child _like,_ *not* child _ish_ 😄 Reminds me of George Carlin's old DJ routine, he's introducing a song and his patter goes "Number one on the charts this week, next week it'll be a golden oldie!"

[@SuzzieMarie0130]

Born and raised in New Orleans, I was a college student when the airplane went missing. Lindy Boggs stepped up and served for years in his district. It’s been a mystery fifty two years later. I was fortunate to meet and get to know both Lindt and Cokie.

[@randyalanko4903]

A college friend's dad was a retired Fairbanks based bush pilot, he commented that Jonz believed he flew better without the locator.

[@FlyingNDriving]

He probably drove better buzzed too!

[@dugroz]

That would be the most obscurely specific superstition ever

[@rileyk99]

ELT's have also been notoriously unreliable as well, a hard enough crash could damage the ELT or antenna bad enough that it would just not activate or activate but be unable to be heard. Newer ELT's link to a SAR satellite network but the problem of damage bad enough to destroy it is still there.

[@AlanToon-fy4hg]

Back years ago my late father was a private pilot. One day his mechanic received an ELT recovered from a crash site that had not gone off.... A new battery was installed and the mechanic and staff did everything possible to set it off, including throwing it against the hangar floor. It still did not go off.....

[@shawnmiller4781]

They don’t work well under water or after burning either

[@johnpeschke7723]

A friend who is from Alaska told me once that in Alaska "there are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old, bold pilots."

[@sarahalbers5555]

Absolutely true

[@goodun2974]

The same saying has been applied to electricians working with high voltage.

[@KlingbergWingMkII]

In almost all aviation accidents, the simplest answer is usually the correct answer. You stated that the airplane had just come out of a standard inspection. It is well-known that the most dangerous time to fly a plane is the first couple of flights after an inspection. It is a prime time for human error to come into play and create a situation ripe for aircraft failure - often electronics or engines. So, that's the most likely cause of this crash. Finally, it is no surprise the plane has never been found. Alaska is rugged and lightly populated. That plane may never be found. May they rest in peace.

[@oldmech619]

Icing is the most likely. Probably went down in water.

[@KlingbergWingMkII]

@@oldmech619 wrong climate for icing. It's possible, but unlikely. Thunderstorms in the Midwest are great for icing, Alaska, much less so.

[@TheBeingReal]

@@KlingbergWingMkIIWrong climate for icing? Where did you get that from? All one needs is the dew point withing ~2 degrees of the air temp at freezing temps. 1972: electronics on this plane were pretty simple. Being a light twin, even losing one engine mid-flight buys one a lot of time. Weather is the top killer. In GA.

[@rob6231981]

​@@KlingbergWingMkIIHuh? All you need is visible moisture and temps below freezing for icing to occur. Has nothing to do with "climate". Most ice I've ever picked up was in my 414A over Jacksonville, FL. I've gotten ice in the Keys. Of course they could have encountered ice, I believe it's more likely than not.

[@KlingbergWingMkII]

@@TheBeingReal Where did I get it from. Well I've been a pilot for more than 50 years. I'm saying that Alaska, due to it's low humidity, is a less likely location for icing. It's not high on this list for this accident.

[@earllutz2663]

Thank you THG for another history lesson. I remember when House Spencer Hale Boggs was reported as missing.

[@takomega7189]

I lived in Alaska for many years. I flew constantly between Fairbanks and Anchorage. I was in 3 "unplanned landings" during that time. It really is odd that most of the plane crashes there don't even make the news, as opposed to down here in the Seattle area where I live now.

[@tmcgill2219]

It appears that a straight line route from Anchorage to Juneau would not only cross Prince William Sound but also spend a fair bit of time over the Gulf of Alaska. Planes going down in deep water are extremely difficult to find.

[@shawnmiller4781]

Yup But I suspect that being VFR he would have been hugging the coast

[@MichaelJohnson-tw7dq]

@@shawnmiller4781 that coastline is predominantly mountainous. If you can’t see where you’re flying, or what you’re about to smack into, it’s safer to fly over water.

[@shawnmiller4781]

@@MichaelJohnson-tw7dq That’s why I usually let the guys actually getting paid up front worry about keeping it on J501 and staying north of Laire

[@cruisersonly]

No one would have made a straight line flight over this route in a Cessna 310. But in any event the terrain on this route is remote and inhospitable enough that there would be little difference between going down over land or over water.

[@fatboyrowing]

This video deserves to be remembered

[@TR-on9tx]

A few us still here and have flown with Don, remember some of his ideas about icing. Among other acts of piloting back in the old days in Fairbanks at interior airways..no surprise.

[@Sashazur]

On some other aviation channel I read a comment with a quote that seems appropriate here: “In Alaska half the people are pilots, and half the pilots have licenses”.

[@calliecooke1817]

Apples and oranges, but this reminded me of when Sen. Heinz of PA was killed. I had been working on his home in Cleveland Park right before it happened. Coming back from Middle East during first Gulf War, if I remember correctly. Small plane was hit by a news helicopter. Tragic. Then his widow,Theresa, married John Kerry. Ironic.

[@Persephone-t5b]

They never found them?

[@calliecooke1817]

@@Persephone-t5b Oh they found 'em. I don't exactly remember, but it was either outside of DC or outside of Pittsburgh. News helicopter was all in their face trying to get the scoop on this high level fact finding mission and dumb a---s ran into Sen. Heinz' plane. Everyone on the plane died. Really totally different circumstances but same type of small plane.

[@JackSmith-jj3bi]

Marrying John Kerry “TRAGIC “

[@nedludd7622]

@@JackSmith-jj3bi MAGA opinion.

[@TheBeingReal]

@@Persephone-t5bthey did

[@saaamember97]

Folks here, have been chiding over the use of "Hulu" for the letter "H." During my 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, as a Computer and Communications Technician, I was required to know the phonetic alphabet by heart. That was 27 years ago! Let's see if I still got it ..... A = Alpha B = Bravo C = Charlie D = Delta E = Echo F = Foxtrot G = Golf H = Hotel I = India J = Juliet K = Kilo L = Lima M = Mike N = November O = Oscar P = Papa Q = Quebec R = Romeo S = Sierra T = Tango U = Uniform V = Victor (Had a hard time remembering this one, but I got it) W = Whiskey X = X-Ray Y = Yankee Z = Zulu

[@RobertLake-mf2qt]

Yes, I remember this incident; it seemed very odd at the time, and it still remains to this day. I have always hoped that someone, some day would come across the remains of that flight, and that might happen somehow in the future. I hope it does.

[@JAGRAFX]

A light twin can be a real handful to control in an engine-out situation.

[@JoshJones-37334]

A VFR pilot who flies into IMC has an average life span measured in minutes.

[@JAGRAFX]

@@JoshJones-37334 a lotta folks think they can beat the "temporary" IMC with their autopilot. Yet another deadly myth that is busted when the AP gives your out-of-trim airplane back to you in that cloud! 😃

[@absalomdraconis]

​@@JAGRAFX: Many pilots can do it... while their plane is at rest on the tarmac.

[@danbenson7587]

I don’t think the FAA approves charter pilots w/o their commercial and IFR tickets. Certainly a pilot w/ its guys experience had plenty of IFR time. Flying IFR doesn’t mean you’re in clouds with zero/zero viz. Still pilot error remains top of the list. I wonder if they flew straight line or followed the coast.

[@JoshJones-37334]

@@danbenson7587 they did for a long time. An IFR ticket wasn’t required for a commercial license until the 90s. My dad was an ag pilot with 8000 hrs and he was VFR only.

[@kellybasham3113]

Lance, for future reference and since the mid-1950's, the aviation phonetic alphabet standard for "H" is Hotel. I don't mean to be so picky, but as an IFR pilot and involved in aviation literally from before birth (my dad a professional aviator and my mom soloed when she was pregnant with me), I couldn't help but make this comment or else my head might explode. Love your videos, please keep up the great work!

[@gonphercoughie897]

Dang, you beat me to it about Hotel, not Hulu being the phonetic word for H. Lost my ticket in 1980 due to low blood pressure, I guess they don't want an airplane falling out of the sky due to the pilot blacking out while pulling more than 1 G......can't blame them on that point.

[@craigcanoe3]

@@gonphercoughie897 I lost my private SEL and my Control Tower Operator Cert in 1980 also, do to bleeding uclers. I still miss flying after all these years..

[@shawnmiller4781]

Careful. The phonetic alphabets has changed over the years Able, Baker, Dog, Easy, item, Sugar have all been used in older systems I want to say Hulu was in the earlier versions as well. Btw, I am ex army signal corps and hold a FAA dispatch certificate

[@byroncromwell3155]

Reading Tip O'Neil's Man of the House, Tip says he told Boggs that Begich "Doesn't have much of a fight." Tip thought Begich would win without the time and expense of a congressional heavyweight to help him. Sounds to me like Boggs wanted a working vacation to help his buddy. Being raised in the state, I don't see a conspiracy here.

[@brentdykgraaf184]

Sooo 2 congressman disappeared..never found. One was the speaker of the house!. Hmmmm... twin engine so one engine failure was not the issue.

[@byroncromwell3155]

​@@brentdykgraaf184 Let me amplify this a bit. Neither was Speaker. Boggs was the majority leader. Tip wasn’t installed as Speaker until ’76. I don’t remember reading where Tip was in the hierarchy. However, he was always able to count votes. If Tip was correct, Begich didn’t really need the help.

[@Cripplehorse]

We're in the dark here. With no evidence, nothing, including a bomb, can be ruled out.

[@Paladin1873]

I'm from a flying family and was in my senior year of high school when this happened. I remember my Dad discussing the disappearance with several other pilots, one of whom commented that Don Jonz had once written a dismissive article about the dangers of airplane icing. Another mentioned that Hale Boggs was a heavy drinker, so perhaps everyone aboard had imbibed before takeoff. All of this is pure speculation and may not contain an ounce of truth, but I'd sooner believe weather and incompetence were the culprits before I would accept a Mafia conspiracy theory.

[@shawnmiller4781]

They never should have watered down that law in the late 1990’s

[@Paladin1873]

@@shawnmiller4781 Which law are you referring to?

[@shawnmiller4781]

@@Paladin1873 AS02.35.110 lists the survival equipment required to be carried

[@seansmith580]

Thank you, I drive on Bogg's bridge daily. I never knew the history.

[@adventureswitharizonaart6117]

In Alaska, the terrain will reach up and grab a plane right out of the sky, the water and trees will hide the evidence.

[@plasmaburndeath]

Here is crazy part from page 6 of the report that should be mentioned: The Pilot may have said HE WAS NOT GETTING PAID for the flight!, OMG - Seriously - you get what you pay for, if this was true, imagine that.... just wow. Page 6: "Although the Investigation found no evidence to establish conclusively whether the Pilot Of N1812H was to be compensated for the flight from Anchorage to Juneau, it should be noted that one witness did testify that the pilot had stated that 'he was not getting paid for the flight" The question of compensation is relevant. If the Pan Alaska aircraft was not being operated for hire, then the provisions of Part 91 of the Federal aviation Regulations 5/ would apply to this flight; if the flight had been operated for hire, then the provisions of Part 135 would have applied" {Note I had to manually correct the OCR read out from the .pdf}

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

The question of compensation, which still hasn’t been answered, might affect whether the emergency locator was required.

[@plasmaburndeath]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannelYep (although I still think all insurance companies should require it and require black boxes, on even smaller planes and boats); and I just hope with the question of him being paid, that he wasn't going through a rough time financially or in general, distracted pilot, pilot putting in lower effort due to low morale, just madness. I truly hope they were going to tip him at least. :)

[@MikeDial]

Wow, I was 19 at the time and have no memory of this story. Thank you for the history lesson.

[@Franklin-pc3xd]

A version of that model C-310 was used in the television series Sky King. It was known as Songbird II. The earlier Songbird was a Beechcraft twin, I beleive.

[@aviatorflighttraining]

Earlier songbird was a Cessna UC-78 Bobcat

[@TooLooze]

I loved when Sky King and Penny got the 310.

[@Franklin-pc3xd]

@@aviatorflighttraining Yes; you are correct. I took another look and, indeed, I was mistaken about Songbird I being a Beech twin. Similar look, but size-wise, clearly, it was that Cessna Bobcat trainer. That's an interesting story in itself, about how the C-78's were used to crank out bomber pilots for WWII. They were the Senecas of their day.

[@scotpens]

Sky King's plane was a slightly earlier model, a Cessna 310B.

[@tejloro]

There were several reports of HAM radio operators picking up distress signals from that area just after the plane went missing. There's also hints the Hoover knew about them and ignored them based on his dislike of Boggs... Conspiracy theory? Maybe. Probably should've been mentioned at least in passing...

[@jeffro118]

Yes, I was trying to find where I'd read that but can't. As I recall, there's no theory that Hoover caused the crash, but given that it happened, he was in no hurry to see Boggs recovered and may have interfered with the search. There was also talk of satellite photos over the glacier area where it flows into the sea, and when they went to find them some years later to see if they could spot the plane, the photos for the time the plane would have been on the ice before it calved into the ocean had been removed.

[@tejloro]

@@jeffro118 I didn't say Hoover caused the crash... but he seems to have had reports of radio calls from (apparently) the crash survivors and he let the reports sit on his desk without acting on them...

[@jeffro118]

​@tejloro Agreed. I didn't intend to imply you said Hoover caused anything. I was agreeing with your overview.

[@tejloro]

@@jeffro118 There was an episode of History's Mysteries (can you trust them????) called Alaska's Bermuda Triangle that mentioned all this...

[@cturdo]

Sketchy charters in AK are not a new problem and remains today.

[@vanroeling2930]

Interstate 310 bridge over the Mississippi River outside of New Orleans LA is named the Hale Boggs Bridge in his honor.

[@winnon992]

I remember all this. It was constantly on the radio in Louisiana. I remember his wife , Lindy finishing his term. I always figured the same ones that took out JFK took them out too. Too many people close to the assassination were done away with. J FK and Bobby had too many enemies ! No matter what history tells you these days !

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Since we are on this topic..... Can we get a video on the Senator Heinz mid air over Lower Merion Elementary?

[@cecilma3140]

Korean 007 also carried a congressman, missing after leaving Alaska…

[@shawnmiller4781]

Yeah but we know what happens with that aircraft

[@michaelmccleary4665]

The faded fuselage was seen at an old hangar at Merrill Field after snow damaged the roof. The airport maintenance man found it under tarps. Upon reporting the find to his supervisor and returning to repair the roof the next day, the hangar was empty.

[@thecameramantraveler4830]

Just subscribed. Thank you for making these videos that mix history and mystery together. I am a big geek in aviation disappearances and I enjoy learning about these types of events.

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Alaska is big, like really big. I just remember big old growth trees. And everywhere being miles from anywhere else.

[@thomasmetz3]

I find it difficult to believe that an effective bomb could be hidden somewhere on a C310 that the pilot wouldn’t find on a preflight inspection. The airplane is just not that big,

[@TheKulu42]

Agreed. I've seen RVs bigger than that plane. Any bomb would have to be the size of a grenade, but it likely still would have been found.

[@TooMuch637]

The Podcast, “Missing in Alaska” is an amazing listen that goes in-depth into this mystery. From the Mob, to the CIA. It’s a must for anyone who found this interesting.

[@buzbuz33-99]

As the picture indicates, the Cessna 310 is a very low-powered twin engine airplane. If one of the engines failed or if they ran into icing conditions,, they would likely be unable to maintain altitude and would eventually crash. Looking at the map, I would guess that the pilot tried to take the shortest route over the ocean (where there are no mountains to hit) and that's where they ended up. I knew a company pilot who had a harrowing flight in a Cessna 310 where ice was building up on the aircraft and the props were throwing ice into the fuselage, creating a terrible racket. He decided to change occupations.

[@grapeshot]

Yeah, and they even deployed an SR-71 Blackbird to look for the missing plane. The first time I ever saw one of those planes was on the 1984 movie, D.A.R.Y.L.

[@shawnmiller4781]

I want to say Johnson had just declassified the program when this happened

[@captainez]

As the vice president of the local PATCO union in 1981 , I went to Washington DC with an appointment with the congressman from New Orleans, Louisiana Representative Lindy Boggs. Said she was so happy to get the idea of our plight... and then would look into it must be real busy Still waiting...43 years,,, Pura Vida... where's Hale

[@TheFULLMETALCHEF]

I had been trying to remember what plane Sky King flew-thanks!

[@Ivan-pl2it]

310 cessna

[@captainez]

@@TheFULLMETALCHEF I think that the Songbird was a

[@MmntechCa]

Alaska is certainly the place to go if you want to get lost. Been to the panhandle a couple of times. Lot of uninhabited space with a lot of big, pointy things. Controlled flight into terrain is not an uncommon cause of general aviation accidents. Especially in IFR conditions. Of course the conspiracy theories make for a better story. And with all the ones that have been proven true in recent years, I wouldn't automatically write them off anymore.

[@davhuf3496]

Also note that on that severe mountain wave turbulence was occurring.

[@TheKulu42]

I went to the scene of a plane crash years ago and was surprised by how small the site was. I live in the Appalachian Mountains, and I think the only reason it was found quickly was because witnesses saw where it came down and it was near a local airport. If it had crashed further away, finding the wreckage would have been difficult.

[@timlecount8690]

Thank you for covering this important part of Alaska history! I always teach it in my AK history class, but now there’s a great KZbin video to go along with it:)

[@MrShobar]

Thenumber of Alaska pilots is an underestimate. There is a lot of flying in Alaska without the benefit of a license.

[@billkoons9612]

I was on a hike and got lost near what the flight path of the 3:10 would have been. Ran across some wreckage. Took some pictures have shown different people no one seems to be interested in them. I've had a pilot's license since 1971.

[@desdicadoric]

Wow, that’s odd. Perhaps it was inconvenient for some reason

[@dlbstl]

Did you show the right people?

[@billkoons9612]

I've shown to the forest service, FFA,Editors, accident investigators I've also emailed several people the pictures. I guess I should go back to Alaska and just throw it in the back of my pickup

[@billkoons9612]

Made a typo it should say FAA

[@-.Steven]

Fascinating! Years ago I would hear one of his sons on national radio. Seems he didn't believe his father's disappearance and death was because of bad weather. But as this video points out, there's no evidence either way.

[@Chris_at_Home]

I used to hunt on one of the islands in Prince William Sound. One year in the late 1980s after a big storm we hunted there. We had a small plane we flew off a beach and were ferrying people to a nearby airport at the end of the hunt. I was the last one to be picked up and I was wandering around this beach and found the floor from a small aluminum aircraft buried in the sand with only a small portion of it exposed. I couldn’t lift it out. The weather was closing in when my ride arrived and I never mentioned to anyone for years. I have flown in many small aircraft and this floor was consistent of what a floor from this plane would look like.

[@Kevin_747]

I got my multi engine rating in the same model 310 in '71. Even with questionable weather for VFR if the pilot got in IFR conditions he could air file IFR with ATC and fly to better conditions or land. Worry about violating the part 135 regs. later. Someday they'll find something to finish the story. In my opinion the conspiracy theory is reaching pretty far. It was something operational, bad weather and poor judgement can be fatal.

[@mattreames3356]

Enjoyed learning more about this lost flight.

[@RolloTonéBrownTown]

Hiya Lance, this story is somewhat infamous for we Alaskans, especially for myself as I've lost a very loved family friend to a very similar plane crash. The woodlands here are truly vast, it's kind of scary to think of a tiny plane crashing into it and just being swallowed up by the dense green sea. Even with modern avionics and safety mechanisms, aviation mishaps are still a reality that take lives to this very day. Thanks for sharing this story with the rest of your audience. I hope if anyone has to fly, you fly safely! Cheers

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

I know Nick Begich`s son. I interviewed him in the 90's and once for Art Bell for 90 minutes at his home in Pahrump.

[@charles-y2z6c]

You knew and worked for Art Bell? If I remember that interview was about HAARP. I miss Art Bell

[@fearoffema]

​@@charles-y2z6cArt was the GOAT for radio hosts

[@robertarnold9815]

@@charles-y2z6c So, which is it? Secret plot to silence the two, space aliens, they took their stolen booty to Brazil & lived out their lives in luxury, or typical aircraft crash into deep water. Hmmm let’s see, I’m going for the latter but I’m sure Art jumped to a secret plot executed by space aliens.

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

@@charles-y2z6c Yes you would be correct Youngling. I miss him too. Coast to Coast sounds similar but its far from the same! Would you agree with me?

[@colusaboy]

@@constipatedinsincity4424 I listen to a podcast by 3 younglings. Last Podcast on the Left. Very popular and they constantly talk about Art Bell and how he influenced their show. Lot's of love for Mr.Bell to this day.

[@philhatfield2282]

VERY interesting! I lived in Alaska for many years, and the names mentioned (Don Young, Ted Stevens, etc.) are quite familiar. Interesting to hear how Don won the Representative seat. I lived in Juneau, but traveled the airways quite a lot while I was there. Strange that no signs of wreckage were ever found.

[@salernolake]

The route from Fairbanks to Juneau is mostly either adjacent to, or over the Gulf of Alaska. There's a good chance the plane crashed in the water, broke up and sank. Think MH370.

[@philhatfield2282]

@@salernolake well, it was Anchorage to Juneau (the plane originated out of Fairbanks, but pucked up the passengers in Anchorage) and while it is true a portion of the trip is over the gulf, going to Juneau is over a lot of the upper panhandle, so a mix of land and water.

[@Ivan-pl2it]

Ted was a felon

[@shawnmiller4781]

@@philhatfield2282he would have been following the beach

[@salernolake]

@@philhatfield2282 True. My point is that the idea that wreckage not being found is not that strange. The plane was more likely lost because of unsafe flying practice than some weird conspiracy theory, especially given that the pilot was apparently known to be cavalier about safety,

[@ChitinaMoose]

As an Alaskan I am grateful for the story you have presented. Yes planes crash all the time up here to the point the news hardly covers them. And the photo of the HC-130 with Alaska Air Guard was good but the HC-130 did not come over to the Air Guard until much later after the accident. But the Air Guard did participate in the search with the i believe was the C-123. Like several others in the posting I am a former ANG aircrew. Thank you your doing a great job.

[@rogergoodman8665]

On this day in History: July 15th 1964, A spectacular thing happened, My favorite History Teacher, LANCE GEIGER was born!!! Thank you very much for all you do! I enjoy your channel very much Lance! HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY BUDDY!!!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Thank you!

[@willtravel9207]

The Begich's were family friends in the tight Fairbanks community. Jonz was known to be reckless and undisciplined.

[@allentac6222]

Why do I feel the timing of this particular episode isn’t coincidence?

[@seanbatiz6620]

Yet another EXCELLENT episode, as anticipated from THG!!! 👍🏻👍🏻 If y’all think THIS plane is small, I have a 1957 Nesmith-Cougar “HOMECRAFT/HOMEBUILT” w/115 Hp 4 cyl pancake Lycoming engine.. “FOR SALE”… needs full restoration; has no skin

[@honodle7219]

They flew away into eternity.

[@MM22966]

Rarely does a year go by without a plane or helicopter disappearing into the Alaskan wilderness...usually into the side of an Alaskan mountain. AK National Guard gets a lot of flight time looking for crash sites.

[@naturetrails8357]

I watched a history hunter video on KZbin, it mentioned about the Louisiana senator having enemies cause he was against the war in Vietnam also. Idk , Alaska is big and vast we know that quite likely just crashed disappeared. Interesting video thanks for sharing

[@haroldellis9721]

The type of airframe that strafed and drop a bomb on the bridge, in the Wild Geese.

[@markgbrown6767]

Great job History Guy! You answered all of my questions and some I hadn’t thought of 😃😃

[@v.e.7236]

Marginal weather patterns have been the demnise of many a pilot and many a famous person, as well. Jim Croce, Lynard Skynard band, and recently, Kobe Bryant. All pilot errors that killed their passengers due to negligence or hubris - your choice. How any pilot can willfully fly into weather they're not qualified to fly in is an enigma to me. Why? smh

[@keithhinke3277]

I was actually in on the search for one flight. Flew as an observer on a CAP flight out of Juneau looking for the missing airplane.

[@robertstevenson57]

Hale Boggs, along with Gerald Ford were the two Congressmen who served on the Warren Commission. Boggs disappeared and Ford was appointed Vice President and became the only unelected President upon Nixon’s resignation. There are no conspiracies but no coincidences either.

[@LokiOdinson-fz8ps]

What ever Ricky Redneck

[@jliller]

Coincidences happen all the time.

[@robertstevenson57]

@@jliller When it comes to the Kennedy Assassination, I am VERY skeptical of coincidences.

[@mattgeorge90]

Great episode!

[@BasicDrumming]

I appreciate you and thank you for making content.

[@Houndini]

You could just about write a conspiracy theory book just on this plane crash alone. I even read a SR 71 Blackbird was flying over searching for missing congressmen pick up an emergency beckon & even talk to survivors only govt wouldn’t send out a rescue response team to the coordinates. This story full of them & why’s?

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

Have a great weekend fellow Classmates!

[@GRW3]

That podcast was so interesting. This is a good visual supplement to that. I recommend the podcast if you found this interesting.

[@VernonWallace]

I was stationed in Alaska at the time. I hear they used a SR-71 in the search.

[@patrickcork7981]

Awesome, And There Was That Other Alaskan Military Plane That Disappeared in 1950 !!!!!!!!

[@ricksaint2000]

Thank you History Guy

[@jasonz7788]

Thanks great job sir

[@RolloTonéBrownTown]

Ha! Fun to hear the Eagan clan mentioned again. I actually went to highschool with one of their family

[@OpusBuddly]

Continued flight into icing conditions over mountainous terrane.

[@shawnmiller4781]

Or open water

[@waltonwarrior7428]

Some mysteries are not meant to be solved. I think this is the case regarding this disappearance. I was a junior in college at Texas A&M at the time of this mishap and I remember it being covered extensively for many days.

[@patrickcaudill2939]

I thought the I Heart radio documentary to be extremely interesting Also enjoyed listening to your input as well.

[@RetiredSailor60]

Good afternoon History Guy and everyone watching. October 16 was my 10th birthday.

[@kellybasham3113]

Love your videos

[@russcrawford3310]

CFIT due to IMC ... same as Kobe Bryant ... any pilot will tell you, just file ... no, commercial pilots won't make money without an instrument rating ... why a plane's instruments cost more than the plane ...

[@RANDALLBRIGGS]

The popular TV series was "SKY KING," not "Sky-king." Brought to you by Nabisco, BTW.

[@davidg2122]

Story well told sir.

[@billcallahan9303]

They'll find them one day like they found the other 11 years later. What's scary is that one or more might have survived, tried to walk out & got eaten by bears etc.

[@LMacNeill]

Occam's Razor: All things being equal, that which is most likely is probably the truth. But it's just so much more FUN to assume there was a conspiracy! Being blown up by the mafia makes a *far* better story than flying into poor weather does.

[@JimiBurleigh]

I know it's a small thing but the H in the aircraft's tail number would be "hotel" in the ICAO/NATO phonetic alphabet used by pilots.

[@shawnmiller4781]

Possibly not. The phonetic alphabet has changed over time. The idea a pilot would have been using a WWII era version of it isn’t surprising. Able Backer, Dog, Easy, Fox, Sugar, Hulu, Item William, Yoke are all examples of letters that have changed .

[@jchoward6451]

​@shawnmiller4781 the international phonetic alphabet has been exactly what it is today since before 1961, which is when I learned it. Other versions were and still are in use - where clarity doesn't matter.

[@cathyheston3029]

Cokie Roberts....Remember her? Thanks for your work and this channel ❤

[@shawnmiller4781]

There is a C-54 that disappear in St Elias in 1950. Has never been round USFS employee Clarence Rhode crashed in 1958 but wasn’t found until August of 1979

[@shawnmiller4781]

And then the RC-135E that disappeared out of Shemya in 68 also has never been found. Leon Crane was the only survivor of a B-24 that went down in 43 up in the Charley Rover. He managed to walk out after 84 days. And the Harold Gillam crash site wasn’t discovered until a month later when two survivors hiked down to the beach and flagged down a patrol boat

[@petercozzaglio6070]

So Much history.