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I was reading up again on the disappearance of Mark VanNest and Kenneth Antolino, and something that's always puzzled me is the Cessna 172's lack of a filed flight plan. I know it wasn't a legal requirement for visual flights back then, but with the unpredictable weather that day, I wonder if it was a risk they underestimated. Without a flight plan, it's like they vanished into thin air with no breadcrumb trail for rescuers to follow. Does anyone know if filing a flight plan would have significantly impacted search efforts, especially in such poor weather conditions? Maybe the search could have been more targeted. I'm pretty fascinated by how regulations have changed since then—could something like this happen today, or are there better safety nets in place now? Any insights from aviation enthusiasts or experts here?
