Donald H. “Don” Major was a 49-year-old man connected to the farming community around Kilbourne and Oak Grove, Louisiana, whose disappearance began with what should have been a routine flight. On November 4, 1983, he was in Vicksburg, Mississippi, after traveling there in his blue-and-white single-engine Cessna 177 Cardinal airplane to pick up parts for a combine.
Major was described as a White male with gray hair, about 6 feet 3 inches tall; some public listings give his weight as ranging from about 160 to 200 pounds. He was known by the nickname Don, and public case summaries describe him not only as a farmer, but also as someone deeply tied to his community, with farming interests in Louisiana and Arkansas, past service as mayor of Kilbourne from 1966 to 1974, co-ownership of a local hardware store, and a role on the board of directors of the Bank of Oak Grove.
That morning in Vicksburg, Major was seen refueling his Cessna at an airport before beginning the flight back toward his home area in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana. Witnesses later reported that he appeared unwell or as though he was not feeling well, a detail that has remained one of the more troubling parts of the case. After collecting the combine parts and refueling, he took off sometime between approximately 10:30 and 11:00 a.m. His aircraft was later seen from the ground by a teacher and a class of children in Vicksburg as they were going inside to get out of the rain, placing his plane in the air shortly after departure and suggesting he had at least begun the return trip.
Major was reportedly headed back to his residence near Kilbourne, Louisiana, where he had a private airstrip, but he never arrived. From that point forward, the ordinary errand turned into a long-standing disappearance. He was not heard from again, and despite the fact that he had been flying a identifiable blue-and-white Cessna Cardinal 177, public case records state that the plane itself was never recovered. Search efforts were described as extensive and lasting almost two weeks, but they did not locate Major, wreckage, or any definitive sign of what happened after the aircraft was seen flying over Vicksburg in rainy weather.
The case remains open in public missing-person repositories, with the West Carroll Parish Sheriff’s Office listed as the investigating agency and NamUs identifying the case as MP28822. The Mississippi Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons lists the repository status as open, and other public case summaries continue to describe both Major and his airplane as missing. The available public information points to a narrow but painful sequence of events: Donald H. Major traveled to Vicksburg for farm equipment parts, appeared ill to witnesses, took off in his blue-and-white Cessna late that morning, was seen flying over Vicksburg as rain approached, never made it back to his private airstrip in Louisiana, and has remained missing ever since, leaving his family, community, and investigators with an unresolved aviation disappearance that has endured for decades.Last Seen: Nov 4, 1983
