Originally Posted by Ken Howell
Originally Posted by Ken Howell
� Two crashes in Alaska � 1950s � took the lives of several people whom I knew, and as far as I know, they haven't been found yet.


I have to correct myself (did a little more looking to refresh and correct my memory).

The wreckage of one of those two Alaska crashes was much later found.

Clarence Rhode was the regional director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska when he disappeared in 1959. He was flying the USF&WS Grumman Goose, number N720. With him were his son Jack and wildlife agent Stan Frederickson. I knew Stan fairly well but had met the Rhodes only briefly. The older Rhode had photographed me feeding parka squirrels in the Alaska Range a couple of years before.

On their last flight, they stopped where I was working on an Arctic archaeological dig on Ogotoruk Creek, and I talked with them just before they continued and were lost. One of the largest and most extensive searches in Alaska history failed to find the wreckage of their Goose. In 1978 � nineteen years after they were lost � hikers in the Brooks Range found the wreckage.



I read about that one as I was following this guy doing his Brooks Range Traverse last year who happened upon the wreckage.

[Linked Image]

And the before pics of the same plane with Clarence Rhode.

[Linked Image]

Quote
This plane wreck was a sad, dramatic sight. It was a twin-engine plane that flew into the mountainside just short of a pass. The wreckage was a time capsule of sorts. An old book still contained clearly legible citations for wildlife violations, written in the 50s. There were boots, canned food and singed clothing. The curled propellers showed the engines had been running when the plane hit. It was easy to imagine what had happened: the pilot flying up the narrowing valley and encountering low clouds so he couldn't see ahead and with not enough room to turn around. He was only about 100 vertical feet from the top of the pass. Update: I was fascinated to learn the story of this wreckage from the folks at ANWR. In 1958, Clarence Rhode, director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska, disappeared on a patrol flight along with his son Jack and Stanley Fredericksen, a game agent. Rhode was a widely respected man, and the largest search ever conducted in Alaska was launched. Up to 28 aircraft and 260 people were involved. The mystery of the disappearance of this Grumman Goose N-720 wasn't solved until backpackers discovered the wreckage in 1979. You can see a photo of Mr. Rhode and this aircraft here


Brooks Range Traverse

Interesting stuff to be sure.



Guns are responsible for killing as much as Rosie O'Donnel's fork is responsible for her being FAT.