Even as the world waits to hear results from the ongoing search for the wreck of Malaysia Flight MH 370 lost four years ago in the Indian Ocean with 234 souls on board, a small team of dedicated professionals are attempting to solve a similar mystery here in Lake Michigan that is 68 years old, and they’re establishing a new base in St. Joseph to do so.
Human remains found along the beaches of West Michigan in the days following the disappearance of a Northwest Airlines DC-4 airliner on June 24, 1950, served as evidence of the country’s worst commercial aviation disaster. Fifty eight people from the East Coast, Midwest and West Coast were lost in the worst aviation accident in the country at the time. The Navy and Coast Guard were unable to locate the wreck during a week-long search in June 1950, and in time the flight took its place on a list of mysterious aviation disappearances.
Now oceanographer Gregory Busch of Busch Marine in Freeland, Michigan, has joined ranks with the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association (MSRA) and its President, author Valerie van Heest, to pick up the search where MSRA and its former partner left off. Van Heest wrote the book “Fatal Crossing: The Mysterious Disappearance of NWA Flight 2501 and the Quest for Answers. ”
Van Heest says, “Greg brings new sonar equipment, a unique search methodology, and even a 3-man submarine to document the wreckage when found.” She co-founded the nonprofit MSRA.
Their previous partner, author/explorer Clive Cussler, used the services of a sonar operator, Ralph Wilbanks, who pulled out of the project recently because the search was moving into water that was too deep. Busch Marine offers international marine services including a certified research submarine, remote control underwater vehicles, hydrographic surveys, side scan sonar search and recovery services, cargo barge transportation, dredging, and marine construction. The submarine, certified to 1,000 feet, can be chartered for film production, research, salvage, inspection of pipelines, cables, dams, bridge footings, wrecks, and pollution assessment.
Busch and Van Heest have been poring over data amassed while Van Heest was conducting research to write the book. Prior searches with their previous partner resulted in ruling out some 600 square miles that initially seemed promising. But the partners’ new interpretation of the data has focused the farther offshore and in deeper water.
Now, van Heest says, “I really feel that we will now be searching in the most likely place where the airliner met the storm.” She has outlined many of the evidentiary clues in the book, and adds, “I’m more hopeful than ever that we will find the wreckage this year.”
Her publisher will be releasing a “Discovery Edition” under the same title if the wreck is found.
The search has been, and remains, a nonprofit operation, with Busch Marine, Van Heest, and MSRA members volunteering their equipment, time, and talents.
Busch reports that, “Valerie has located and is in touch with almost all of the families who lost loved ones in this accident,” and adds, “And after 68 years, these people, including many children of victims, still want answers. I want to find it for them.”
MSRA has previously located two unmarked graves where human remains collected from the lake after the accident had been buried. Those graves in Lakeview Cemetery in South Haven and Riverview Cemetery in St. Joseph have now been marked thanks to donations made by local businesses. MSRA hosted memorial services, and many victims’ families attended.
Previously working out of South Haven, the new team now plans to relocate its base of operation to St. Joseph, where Eric Johnstone of Anchor’s Way Marina has donated accommodations for Busch’s search vessel in its marina. Johnstone says, “We are proud to support this worthwhile endeavor,” adding, “and we look forward to contributing to its success.”
The search will begin soon when conditions on the big lake allow, and is scheduled to last two months. Gas and other expenses remain a challenge for the team. Van Heest says, “We are seeking tax deductible donations from individuals and companies who wish to help solve this mystery and help provide the families some closure.”
Check out the webpage linked below for ways to get involved:
http://www.michiganshipwrecks.org
You can also find additional information about the accident at the link below:
http://www.NorthwestAirlinesFlight2501.com
The sonar sub photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market is courtesy of MSRA as provided by Eric Johnstone at Anchor’s Way Marina in St. Joseph.
