Coast Of, AK Private Plane Lost, Oct 1972

U.S. POLITICIANS ON MISSING PLANE.

Anchorage, Alaska (AP) -- Severe weather along Alaska's rugged southern coast threatened to hamper search efforts today for a missing light plane carrying HALE BOGGS of Louisiana, Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, and three other persons, including Alaska's only House member.
A spokesman for the air force's rescue co-ordination centre said the forecast for today was for strong wind, heavy overcast and "very marginal flying weather."
Meanwhile, an air force rescue plane searched throughout the night for the missing craft, which failed to show up late Monday on a scheduled 2 1/2 hours, 500-mile flight to Juneau.
Aboard the twin-engined Cessna 310 were BOGGS, 58; Representative NICK BEGICH, a 40-year-old Democrat; BEGICH'S administrative assistant, RUSSELL BROWN, 37, and the pilot, 38-year-old DON JONZ.
BOGGS' adminstrative assistant, Gary Hymel, said in Washington that the last radio contact with the plane came 12 minutes after takeoff Monday when JONZ filed a flight plan. There was no sign of trouble.
"We assume that the airplane is down," an FAA spokesman said Monday night.
BOGGS, who left Washington on Sunday and had been due to return this morning, had gone to Alaska to campaign for BEGICH, a native of Eveleth, Minn., who is seeking re-election to a second term.
BOGGS was on the last leg of the fund-raising trip for BEGICH when the plane left Anchorage. It was scheduled to arrive at 5:30 p.m. EDT. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane had enough fuel to last until around 8 p.m.
JONZ, president of Pan-Alaskan Airways, a small air taxi service which operates the plane, had charted a chourse from Anchorage in the south-central section of the state that would have taken the plane across Prince William Sound, then southeastward along the glacier-covered mountainous coastline to Juneau in Alaska's panhandle.
The plane had a search locater beacon, which is designed to be activated by a crash.

Lethbridge Herald Alberta Canada 1972-10-17

Transcriber's Note: Any wreckage, or bodies from this incident was never located.
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!