L-39 not found

[kage]

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)

Aviation News Service

October 25, 2004







Search Suspended for Missing L-39 Plane



ELLENSBURG - Last night, after five and a half days of combing over 2,700
square miles, search and rescue teams officially suspended the search for a
missing L-39 single-engine trainer jet, according to Tom Peterson, WSDOT Air
Search and Rescue Coordinator. Pilot Rocky Stewart and passenger Scott
Smith were on board the aircraft Tuesday, October 19 when it departed Boeing
Field in the afternoon and disappeared from radar near Easton. The plane
was headed to Lewiston, Idaho.



Since Tuesday afternoon, rescue teams from WSDOT, Washington Air Search and
Rescue, the Civil Air Patrol, King County, Kittitas County, Chelan County,
and Snohomish County have participated in the search by air and ground. The
search effort included two helicopters, 12 fixed winged aircraft, and about
100 search and rescue personnel per day.



"The radar information led us to an area between Kachess Lake and Keechelus
Lake, which is near Easton," said Peterson. "We flew that area numerous
times. With the accumulating snow and no new leads to go on, we made the
decision to suspend official search efforts."



About a dozen family members had gathered at the search base in Ellensburg.
The Kittitas County Red Cross was on hand to provide family members with
meals for four days.



If anyone has information on the missing aircraft, please contact the
Kittitas County Sheriff's Office at (509) 925-8534.

[Bela P. Havasreti]

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 12:53:36 -0700, "kage" >
wrote:

There is apparently some sophisticated software available (no doubt it
ain't cheap) that can take the radar data combined with aircraft
attributes & known weather patterns at the time and plot a "suggested"
search area.

Word has it the radar data showed "fragments" in the last frame(s)
(suggesting the thing came apart in the air....).

Bela P. Havasreti

>Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)
>
>Aviation News Service
>
>October 25, 2004
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Search Suspended for Missing L-39 Plane
>
>
>
>ELLENSBURG - Last night, after five and a half days of combing over 2,700
>square miles, search and rescue teams officially suspended the search for a
>missing L-39 single-engine trainer jet, according to Tom Peterson, WSDOT Air
>Search and Rescue Coordinator. Pilot Rocky Stewart and passenger Scott
>Smith were on board the aircraft Tuesday, October 19 when it departed Boeing
>Field in the afternoon and disappeared from radar near Easton. The plane
>was headed to Lewiston, Idaho.
>
>
>
>Since Tuesday afternoon, rescue teams from WSDOT, Washington Air Search and
>Rescue, the Civil Air Patrol, King County, Kittitas County, Chelan County,
>and Snohomish County have participated in the search by air and ground. The
>search effort included two helicopters, 12 fixed winged aircraft, and about
>100 search and rescue personnel per day.
>
>
>
>"The radar information led us to an area between Kachess Lake and Keechelus
>Lake, which is near Easton," said Peterson. "We flew that area numerous
>times. With the accumulating snow and no new leads to go on, we made the
>decision to suspend official search efforts."
>
>
>
>About a dozen family members had gathered at the search base in Ellensburg.
>The Kittitas County Red Cross was on hand to provide family members with
>meals for four days.
>
>
>
>If anyone has information on the missing aircraft, please contact the
>Kittitas County Sheriff's Office at (509) 925-8534.
>
>
>

[Bush]

There is, and it isn't that complex. We took the search for JFK jr.
from Nomans I. to the crash site.

Have a great one!

Bush


On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 20:59:09 GMT, Bela P. Havasreti
> wrote:

>On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 12:53:36 -0700, "kage" >
>wrote:
>
>There is apparently some sophisticated software available (no doubt it
>ain't cheap) that can take the radar data combined with aircraft
>attributes & known weather patterns at the time and plot a "suggested"
>search area.
>
>Word has it the radar data showed "fragments" in the last frame(s)
>(suggesting the thing came apart in the air....).
>
>Bela P. Havasreti
>
>>Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)
>>
>>Aviation News Service
>>
>>October 25, 2004
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Search Suspended for Missing L-39 Plane
>>
>>
>>
>>ELLENSBURG - Last night, after five and a half days of combing over 2,700
>>square miles, search and rescue teams officially suspended the search for a
>>missing L-39 single-engine trainer jet, according to Tom Peterson, WSDOT Air
>>Search and Rescue Coordinator. Pilot Rocky Stewart and passenger Scott
>>Smith were on board the aircraft Tuesday, October 19 when it departed Boeing
>>Field in the afternoon and disappeared from radar near Easton. The plane
>>was headed to Lewiston, Idaho.
>>
>>
>>
>>Since Tuesday afternoon, rescue teams from WSDOT, Washington Air Search and
>>Rescue, the Civil Air Patrol, King County, Kittitas County, Chelan County,
>>and Snohomish County have participated in the search by air and ground. The
>>search effort included two helicopters, 12 fixed winged aircraft, and about
>>100 search and rescue personnel per day.
>>
>>
>>
>>"The radar information led us to an area between Kachess Lake and Keechelus
>>Lake, which is near Easton," said Peterson. "We flew that area numerous
>>times. With the accumulating snow and no new leads to go on, we made the
>>decision to suspend official search efforts."
>>
>>
>>
>>About a dozen family members had gathered at the search base in Ellensburg.
>>The Kittitas County Red Cross was on hand to provide family members with
>>meals for four days.
>>
>>
>>
>>If anyone has information on the missing aircraft, please contact the
>>Kittitas County Sheriff's Office at (509) 925-8534.
>>
>>
>>

[Dave Burton]

The passenger wasn't Scott "Sky" Smith was it?

A real shame regardless.

[C J Campbell]

"Bela P. Havasreti" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 12:53:36 -0700, "kage" >
> wrote:
>
> There is apparently some sophisticated software available (no doubt it
> ain't cheap) that can take the radar data combined with aircraft
> attributes & known weather patterns at the time and plot a "suggested"
> search area.
>
> Word has it the radar data showed "fragments" in the last frame(s)
> (suggesting the thing came apart in the air....).

The search area as described is fairly small in size, but it is heavily
forested, rugged, and unpopulated, characterized by high knife-edge
mountains and steep valleys and passes. I have camped there in early summer
and listened all night to the roar of constant avalanches. Hikers go there
only in the summer. The snow in places can exceed 40 feet deep by the end of
the winter. I have encountered miles of waist deep snow on the Pacific Crest
Trail in late May. There are some popular snowmobiling spots in the area,
but any wreckage is going to be completely covered with snow by the time the
snowmobilers and cross country skiers get there. In short, I would not be
surprised if the wreckage could be found before next summer, perhaps not for
years.

[John Clear]

In article >,
C J Campbell > wrote:
>
>"Bela P. Havasreti" > wrote in message
...
>> On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 12:53:36 -0700, "kage" >
>> wrote:
>>
>> There is apparently some sophisticated software available (no doubt it
>> ain't cheap) that can take the radar data combined with aircraft
>> attributes & known weather patterns at the time and plot a "suggested"
>> search area.
>>
>> Word has it the radar data showed "fragments" in the last frame(s)
>> (suggesting the thing came apart in the air....).
>
>The search area as described is fairly small in size, but it is heavily
>forested, rugged, and unpopulated, characterized by high knife-edge
>mountains and steep valleys and passes. I have camped there in early summer
>and listened all night to the roar of constant avalanches. Hikers go there
>only in the summer. The snow in places can exceed 40 feet deep by the end of
>the winter.

This search sounds similiar to the biz jet that went down in NH a
few years ago. The search area on that one was very small, but
the plane was not found for several years due to terrain/trees
hiding the wreckage.

John
--
John Clear - http://www.panix.com/~jac

[Ash Wyllie]

C J Campbell opined

>"Bela P. Havasreti" > wrote in message
...
>> On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 12:53:36 -0700, "kage" >
>> wrote:
>>
>> There is apparently some sophisticated software available (no doubt it
>> ain't cheap) that can take the radar data combined with aircraft
>> attributes & known weather patterns at the time and plot a "suggested"
>> search area.
>>
>> Word has it the radar data showed "fragments" in the last frame(s)
>> (suggesting the thing came apart in the air....).

>The search area as described is fairly small in size, but it is heavily
>forested, rugged, and unpopulated, characterized by high knife-edge
>mountains and steep valleys and passes. I have camped there in early summer
>and listened all night to the roar of constant avalanches. Hikers go there
>only in the summer. The snow in places can exceed 40 feet deep by the end of
>the winter. I have encountered miles of waist deep snow on the Pacific Crest
>Trail in late May. There are some popular snowmobiling spots in the area,
>but any wreckage is going to be completely covered with snow by the time the
>snowmobilers and cross country skiers get there. In short, I would not be
>surprised if the wreckage could be found before next summer, perhaps not for
>years.

A Lear flew into a mountain east of KLEB Christmas Eve a few years ago. It was
four years before someone tripped over it while walking in the woods. It can
be hard to find an aircraft in the woods.


-ash
Cthulhu for President!
Why vote for a lesser evil?