On January 26, 2015, the life of 65-year-old Robert Kenneth Alexander, Jr., a resident of Fox Island, Washington, took a tragic and mysterious turn. A retired airline transport pilot, Alexander was a man accustomed to the discipline and precision of flight. On that Monday, he was last seen before his amateur-built experimental RV7 airplane, with the registration number N747BA, took off from the Tacoma Narrows Airport for a local personal flight.
The flight was conducted under visual meteorological conditions, and no flight plan had been filed. What began as a routine flight for the experienced aviator would end in a perplexing disappearance that left his family and investigators with more questions than answers.
Later that day, at approximately 12:50 p.m., dispatchers in Kitsap County began receiving calls about an airplane in distress over Hood Canal, near Seabeck. An eyewitness reported a harrowing sight: a small plane 'spinning out of control' as it descended rapidly towards the water. The witness described the aircraft's motion as a 'whirlybird type of motion' before it disappeared below the tree line, a clear indication of a catastrophic loss of control. The plane impacted the water in an area known for its significant depth, estimated to be between 500 and 600 feet. A search of the crash site by the Coast Guard led to the recovery of some debris and a wallet belonging to Alexander, confirming his connection to the downed aircraft.
Despite the recovery of personal effects, the main wreckage of the RV7 and Robert Alexander Jr. were never found. The extreme depth of the Hood Canal at the crash site made recovery operations prohibitively difficult, and the search for his body and the aircraft was eventually suspended. The National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation into the crash. Radar data showed the plane climbing to 7,000 feet before the final recorded target, about a mile from where the debris was found. In their final report, the NTSB presumed that the sole occupant, the pilot, had been fatally injured in the crash. However, due to the lack of physical evidence from the aircraft itself, the probable cause of the accident could not be determined. The official finding was left as 'Not determined,' leaving the exact circumstances of the in-flight emergency a mystery. The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office opened a missing person case, but without a body or the plane, the case has remained unresolved, a painful ambiguity for those who knew Robert Alexander, Jr. The circumstances of that day, from the moment his plane took to the sky to its final, spiraling descent, remain an overview of a life that vanished into the deep waters of the canal, leaving behind only the echoes of a distress call and the lingering sorrow of an unsolved case.Last Seen: Jan 26, 2015
