When you picture Alaska, what do you see? Do you imagine rugged mountains, waves crashing into sheer cliffs, roaring rivers, steep glaciers, deep canyons, and rolling tundra? Alaska is all of this and more, and it is a thrill to fly over this stunning scenery on a clear summer day. Take this geography, shroud it in fog, and add some wind, though, and a beautiful plane ride turns into a harrowing adventure.

Plane crashes are far too common in Alaska, and many of these accidents are due, at least in part, to poor weather conditions. If commercial pilots refused to fly in marginal weather, though, they would not make money because the weather is often bad in Alaska. For those of us who live or work in remote areas, we must fly in small planes, and we can’t always pick our weather. Mysteries abound in Alaska about airplanes that took off and were never seen again. The following is a story of one of the most famous airplane disappearances in the history of the state.

Sources:

Alpert, Bruce. “Author writes about disappearance of plane carrying Hale Boggs 43 years ago over Alaska.” June 16, 2015. Nola.com.
Glass, Andrew. “Hale Boggs’ plane vanishes in Alaska.” October 16, 1972.

Politico. https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/hale-boggs-plane vanishes-in-alaska-oct-16-1972-229692

Liefer, Gregory P. 2011. Aviation Mysteries of the North. Chapter 16: “Accident or conspiracy?” Publication Consultants: Anchorage.

“New podcast Missing in Alaska takes on 50-year-old mysterious plane disappearance.” May 21, 2020. Inside Radio.

__________________________________________

Listen to a new podcast!

_____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Karluk Bones Audiobook Narrated by Beth Chaplin

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Join the Murder and Mystery in the First Frontier Facebook Group!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Robin Barefield is the author of five Alaska wilderness mystery novels, Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, and Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge. She has also written two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. Sign up to subscribe to her free monthly newsletter on true murder and mystery in Alaska.

Subscribe to Robin’s free, monthly Murder and Mystery Newsletter for more stories about true crime and mystery from Alaska.
Join her on:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
LinkedIn
Visit her website at http://robinbarefield.com
Check out her books at Author Masterminds

___________________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to support Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier? Become a patron and join The Last Frontier Club.
Each month Robin will provide one or more of the following to club members.
· An extra episode of Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier available only for club members.
Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life and wildlife in the Kodiak wilderness.
· Breaking news about ongoing murder cases and new crimes in Alaska

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Merchandise! Visit the Store