Noorduyn Norseman, Bedford to Paris, 1944 On 15 December, the single–engined aircraft left an air base in south–east England carrying the big–band leader Glenn Miller. Within two minutes, the plane vanished into fog. The most recent theory is that it was the victim of friendly fire after Lancaster bombers returning from an aborted mission to Germany dumped their bombs over the channel, on to Miller’s plane.
Other instances initially baffled authorities but the planes were found.
Fairchild FH–227D, Uruguay to Chile, 1972 Sixteen people survived by eating the victims of the crash in the Andes. The plane hit a peak on October 13. Searches were called off but after two months a pair of survivors walked for 10 days through the mountains to find help.
Bellanca Super Decathlon, Nevada, 2007 The disappearance of billionaire Steve Fossett in his single-engine plane sparked weeks of searches. Wreckage was eventually found a year later after a hiker discovered Fossett’s papers in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Investigators said strong gusts of wind probably overpowered the plane.
