On July 29, 1995, a then 20-year-old man named Richard Lindner was piloting a white, twin-engine Cessna 421C with the tail number N800DD. He and two passengers, Allen Gelin and Mark Pickar, departed from Juneau, Alaska, with King Salmon as their destination. En route, Lindner reported trouble with the aircraft's right engine. He communicated his intention to make an emergency landing on Middleton Island, located in the challenging waters of Prince William Sound.
This was the last known communication from the aircraft. Radar contact with the Cessna was lost after it flew past the island to the southeast, having consistently lost altitude during the flight.
An immediate search was launched, and crews from rescue aircraft reported seeing bubbles, an oil slick, and what appeared to be airplane debris in the ocean approximately three miles south of the Middleton Island airport. The weather conditions at the time were difficult, with low cloud cover and strong, gusty winds. Despite these initial signs of a crash, neither the main wreckage of the Cessna nor any of its three occupants were found at that time. The initial search efforts were extensive but ultimately unsuccessful in locating the downed plane or the missing men, leaving their families in a painful state of uncertainty.
It was not until over a year later, on September 29, 1996, that the wreckage of the Cessna 421C was finally discovered on Middleton Island. The discovery of the aircraft confirmed the grim reality of the crash but offered no solace to the families of the missing men. A thorough search of the wreckage and the surrounding area yielded no trace of Richard Lindner, Allen Gelin, or Mark Pickar. The absence of the occupants from the recovered plane deepened the mystery surrounding their fate. The National Transportation Safety Board later determined the probable cause of the accident to be a mechanical loss of engine power for unknown reasons, leading to a collision with the water. The case remains an unsolved and tragic event in Alaska's history of aviation incidents, leaving a lingering sense of loss and unanswered questions for the families of the three men who vanished that day.Last Seen: Jul 29, 1995
