Joseph J. Leblanc, Jr., a 60-year-old male associated with Juneau, Alaska, was last seen on July 3, 1997, during a sightseeing flight through the rugged coastal landscape of Southeast Alaska. Although his NamUs missing-person record lists Juneau as the place from which he disappeared, the event that led to his disappearance occurred near Skagway, approximately 85 miles north of Juneau.
Leblanc was among the passengers aboard a Piper PA-32 operated by Haines Airways as part of an optional excursion for travelers from the Star Princess cruise ship, which was docked in Skagway. Four of the passengers were Midwestern residents traveling together, and another passenger was a cruise-ship crew member. What began as an eagle-viewing and glacier tour from Skagway to Haines and back became a catastrophe as the aircraft approached the final portion of its journey.
The flight departed Haines Airport at approximately 4:40 that afternoon and passed over several glaciers before continuing north through Taiya Inlet toward Skagway. The inlet is bordered by steep mountains that descend sharply into the water, leaving very few beaches or other suitable places for an emergency landing. As the airplane traveled along the western shoreline and descended toward Skagway, its engine began losing fuel pressure and then stopped completely at an altitude of approximately 1,200 feet. The pilot attempted emergency procedures, but engine power could not be restored. She made repeated radio calls for assistance and initially turned toward the Skagway airport, but the aircraft did not have enough altitude to cross the inlet safely. With no viable landing area available, she turned back toward the western shore, lowered the flaps and brought the aircraft down in the ocean roughly 100 feet from the rocky shoreline and about a mile and a half southwest of Skagway.
Everyone aboard initially escaped from the sinking airplane, but they emerged directly into water estimated to be only 39 degrees Fahrenheit. The occupants in the front and middle seats used the right front door, while those in the rear escaped through a left rear exit. None of the passengers left the aircraft wearing a life vest. A tour helicopter following approximately one mile behind saw the airplane in the water and began circling the scene. Its pilot reported seeing five people near the sinking wreckage, and those aboard the helicopter threw several life vests toward them. A second helicopter arrived within about ten minutes and pulled the pilot and one female passenger from the water before carrying them to Skagway. Two female passengers were recovered deceased, while Leblanc and another male passenger, John L. Blanda, could not be found. The official accident investigation treated the two missing men as presumed fatalities, but Leblanc’s remains were never recovered, leaving his family without the certainty that a physical recovery might have provided.
Investigators later recovered the aircraft from approximately 153 feet of water and examined its engine and mechanical systems. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the engine failure resulted from the jamming and failure of the left magneto impulse coupling, which stopped the magneto gear from rotating and led to the shearing of an accessory-drive gear. The board also identified several factors that made the emergency more dangerous: the absence of suitable terrain for a forced landing, inadequate passenger instruction concerning life vests, and seat covers that obstructed access to the pouches in which the flotation devices were stored. The surviving passenger did not remember receiving instructions about the location or use of the vests. Although one vest was thrown from the airplane and another passenger attempted to use it, the combination of sudden engine failure, inaccessible emergency equipment, near-freezing water and the rapid sinking of the aircraft left almost no margin for survival.
Joseph was described in official case information as a white man with gray or partially gray hair and brown eyes, standing approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 180 pounds. His case is maintained under NamUs number MP66892 and is associated with the Alaska State Troopers, whose records document his disappearance following the crash. No official recovery of Joseph has been reported, and his case remains a painful example of how a clearly documented disaster can still leave enduring uncertainty when a missing person is never physically located. From the peaceful beginning of a glacier-viewing excursion to the engine’s sudden failure, the desperate ditching in Taiya Inlet, the rapid rescue effort and the unsuccessful search for the two missing passengers, the case of Joseph J. Leblanc, Jr. is ultimately the story of a 60-year-old man lost in a catastrophic aviation accident whose absence has continued long after the wreckage itself was brought back to shore.Last Seen: Jul 3, 1997
