I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

[PA1195]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

Tim I've never flown in Utah but looking at the Salt Lake sectional it's a high traffic environment with lots of radars and coms available. I see what looks like an airstrip near the railroad spot on the point, was that their intended destination? If they've made the trip before they likely took a similar VFR route given the time of day and light constraints. Given the environment you'd think they's have been followed as long as they were within radar or com coverage. I'm sure this isn't news to the searchers but just a different flying environment than I'm familiar with.

Gary

[astjp2]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

They were supposed to overfly the train event, yes there is a lot of high altitude comms over the proposed search area. The problem is that they were on the backside of the mountains and low altitude comms are limited. There are lots of strips and roads that people use to land on. With no elt or comms from the airplane, I am sorry to say that they probably went down in the lake or had a catastrophic failure of the aircraft where they could not use the radio.

[SpecialT]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

It sounds like the family is fortunate to have you looking out for them, I know it's a heavy burden, and I'm sorry. I almost lost my Dad some years ago in a Bell 47 crash, and it put a real damper on my flying. Hopefully something turns for the good.

[astjp2]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=46227295&nid=157&title=crews-to-scale-back-search-for-missing-plane-2-occupants

PROMONTORY, Box Elder County — Air, ground and water crews continued searching Sunday for a small plane that didn’t arrive at Ogden-Hinckley Airport by its scheduled time Friday afternoon.

However, authorities said they plan to scale back the search after failing to find the plane after two full days of searching.

"A joint meeting was held with ground and air search units and search track records were compared. It was determined from this meeting that the search area has been covered from the air at least once and some areas multiple times," Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Dale Ward wrote in a statement Friday afternoon.

A Department of Public Safety helicopter, as well as the Civil Air Patrol, were dismissed from the search after Sunday's efforts as a part of the scaling back, Ward said. He added ground efforts on land and water will continue but will also be scaled back.

The plane, a red and white Cessna 172 with license number N4395R, left the airport at about 3:30 p.m. Friday. Inside the plane were pilot Denny Mansell, 71, and passenger Peter Ellis, 74. Family members told police the two planned to leave the airport and fly to the Promontory area to view trains at the Golden Spike Historic Site from the air.

Family members said the pair planned to return to the airport at about 4:30 p.m., but they did not return, according to Ward.

Police have received and investigated several tips, but as of Sunday afternoon had not yet found any definitive leads, Ward said.

Ward added the family of the missing men want anyone who attended the Steam Festival at the Golden Spike Historical Site Friday for any evidence, such as photos, of the plane to establish if the plane actually made it to the area the men were flying to. He said that would allow investigators to narrow the search area of the plane.

Anyone with photos or information is encouraged to email [email protected].

[Robert Lees]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

That's very sad for you and the family of the missing, Tim. I also received a notification of the TFR via the UBCP list.

As you will recall, I flew over this area on my way inbound to Ogden to meet you last year.

A reminder to us all to take every precaution and every care we possibly can.

Rob

[flylo]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

It's been a week, No news?

[astjp2]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=46230845&nid=148&title=friends-continue-search-for-2-missing-men-and-their-plane

BRIGHAM CITY — It's been one week since a plane carrying two men went missing in northern Utah.

But friends of Denny Mansell, 71, and passenger Peter Ellis, 74, say they are not giving up looking.

"They're like family. These guys are husbands, they have wives, they're fathers, they have kids, they're grandpas, they have grandkids. They're just stellar people," John Malmberg, president of the Hill Flying Club and a friend of both men, said Friday.

On Dec. 29, Mansell, the pilot, and Ellis took off from the Ogden-Hinckley Airport in Mansell's Cessna 172. Their plan was to fly the Promontory Point area, take pictures of the winter steam engine festival at the Golden Spike historic site, then return to the airport about an hour later, according to the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office.

But whether they made it to Golden Spike or decided to fly to other areas afterward was still unknown Friday.
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The Weber County Sheriff's Office, Utah Department of Public Safety and Civil Air Patrol have all assisted in the search, as well as the 100 members of the Hill Flying Club — the flying club that both Mansell and Ellis are members of.

Maimberg said in the past week his group, and even private pilots, have searched the south tip of the Promontory Point area extensively, as well as surrounding areas stretching from the Pocatello Valley, Malad Valley, Hansel Valley, Sardine Canyon, Trapper's Loop, North Ogden Canyon and Weber Canyon.

"We've put a lot of man hours, a lot of airplane hours, searching down low, looking in every canyon and crevasse we can," he said. "We don't do it haphazardly. We fly where we have had some information that a possibility where they're going to be and then we fly it in a grid manner. … Problem is, we're looking for something that probably doesn't look like an airplane."

Recently, the club received a tip that the plane was spotted flying a week ago near Malad, Idaho. On Friday, Maimberg said he was going to fly the shoreline on the north end of the Great Salt Lake. At the same time, he said Weber County sheriff's search and rescue crews were using boats equipped with sonar in the same area to search.

Related:
Missing plane may have visited Golden Spike steam engine festival
Authorities and family members of a missing pilot and passenger are seeking the public's help in finding a small plane overdue since Friday.

Mansell was a very experienced pilot with more than 45 years of flying, Maimberg said.

"Both of them were capable of flying that airplane, and Denny could fly it as well as anyone around," he said.

But Maimberg's personal theory is the plane may have been caught in a strong down-draft that slammed them to the ground.

He said it's doubtful at this point that the men survived.

Maimberg is encouraging recreationists in northern Utah who are out hiking, target shooting or hunting to keep their eyes open.

"If they see something out of the ordinary — a burn scar, a little burn scar could be 6 to 8 feet around if they went in hard," he said. "Or just a little field of debris. But I think what we're looking for is something that doesn't look like an airplane, so it makes it even tougher."

It's important, Maimberg said, to find the remains of the men to give closure to the family.

"You can replace an airplane. You just can't replace people. It's the part of not being able to tell their families where they're at or what's happened that's the tough part," he said.

[LostnSpace]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

This showed up on the newspaper website:
PROMONTORY, Box Elder County — Officials discovered what they believe to be a plane in the Great Salt Lake Saturday afternoon.

The unidentified object was located on private property near the Promontory border, according to Box Elder County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dale Ward.

Divers with the Weber County Sheriff's Search and Rescue team are scheduled to search the lake and identify the object Sunday, Ward said.

On Dec. 29, a Cessna 172 carrying pilot Denny Mansell and passenger Peter Ellis went missing. The men, both in their 70s, had planned to fly near the Promontory Point area and see the winter steam engine festival at the Golden Spike National Historic Site from the air. Several agencies as well as volunteer pilots have searched the area for the plane and the men but have been unsuccessful.

Officials do not know whether the object discovered in the Great Salt Lake is the missing Cessna, Ward said.

[LostnSpace]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

Well this was posted at about 4:30 PM, Utah time, I am so sorry for the families:

PROMONTORY, Box Elder County — Search and rescue crews have identified an object found in the Great Salt Lake as an airplane that matches the size and description of a plane that went missing last month.

While heavy fog hampered crews' efforts to navigate to the object's location, along with equipment issues that caused delays, a dive to further investigate the plane scheduled for Sunday morning was postponed. But there was an "upside" to Sunday's efforts, said Dale Ward, Box Elder County sheriff's chief deputy.

The object was "unequivocally identified as an airplane of the general size and description of our Cessna 172," Ward said in a news release Sunday.

The Cessna was carrying pilot Denny Mansell and passenger Peter Ellis, both in their 70s, when it went missing Dec. 29.

[PA1195]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

More of same with search techniques using sonar: https://www.scribd.com/document/3686...aft#from_embed

Gary

[LostnSpace]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

2 bodies recovered, sad, sad, sad :

Divers recovered the bodies of Denny Mansell, 71, and Peter Ellis, 74, from the lake early Saturday afternoon, according to Box Elder County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Dale Ward. The men and their aircraft had been missing since Dec. 29.

[swoeric]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

any word on a cause

[astjp2]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

Airplane is still in the water, no one wants to go in that part of the lake with a boat because the water is so corrosive. I talked with the family and they had no autopsy results as of yesterday.

[LostnSpace]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

any word on a cause

the last time I was on that site, it said the investigation was turned over to the NTSB, one of the original articles said there was a large debris field, and the fuselage was upside down, gary

[N96337]

Re: I had to make a phone call I never wanted to make

Sorry to hear about your friends, Tim.