The Morning That Changed American Politics
On the morning of October 16, 1972, U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs (D-Louisiana) boarded a small twin-engine Cessna 310 at Anchorage International Airport. He was accompanied by Alaska Congressman Nick Begich, pilot Don Jonz, and aide Russell Boggs. The destination was Juneau, Alaska, a routine 570-mile flight for a campaign event.
Hale Boggs was one of the most powerful men in Washington: second only to Speaker Carl Albert. He had been a vocal critic of the Nixon administration during the Watergate era and helped lead the House investigation into Vice President Spiro Agnew. Nick Begich was a rising star in Alaskan politics, newly elected and popular.
The flight was VFR (visual flight rules), no flight plan was filed, but that was common for small bush planes in Alaska. Weather was marginal: low clouds, light rain, icing at higher altitudes. Pilot Don Jonz was very experienced, but not instrument-rated for the route. The aircraft taxied for take-off...
The Last Contact
At 9:00 a.m. local time, the Cessna N1812H took off from Anchorage. At 9:12 a.m., pilot Don Jonz made his last radio contact with Anchorage Center:
"Portage, Cessna one-eight-one-two-Hotel, climbing through ten thousand for twelve thousand."
– Pilot Don Jonz (last transmission, calm and routine)
No distress call made. No mayday heard. No further communication. The plane never arrived in Juneau.
The Largest Search in U.S. History
By 11:00 a.m., the plane was officially overdue. By 2:00 p.m., the largest search in American history was underway:
- Duration: 39 days (October 16 – November 24, 1972)
- Area covered: 40,000+ square miles of mountains, glaciers, fjords, and ocean
- Assets: 40+ aircraft (USAF, Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol, private pilots), helicopters, ships, ground teams
- Conditions: Extreme, blizzards, 100+ mph winds, icing, zero visibility, avalanche risks
- Cost: Millions of dollars (1972 dollars)
President Nixon personally ordered the search intensified. The Air Force flew grid patterns over glaciers and mountains. The Coast Guard searched Prince William Sound. Ground teams scoured forests and shores.
"We flew grid after grid for weeks. Glaciers, crevasses, forests. Nothing. Not even a scrap of metal. It's like the plane just… evaporated."
– Search pilot (anonymous, 1972 interview)
Result: **Zero wreckage, zero debris, zero bodies, zero ELT signal**. Today, over 50 years later, not a single piece of the plane or its occupants has ever been found. The plane and it's passangers really did vanish.
Official Conclusion
The NTSB final report (1974) listed the cause as "undetermined."
Probable theories included:
- Controlled flight into terrain due to weather/icing
- Pilot disorientation in low visibility
- Possible mechanical failure
However, no solid evidence supports any specific cause. The case remains one of the most famous unsolved aviation disappearances in U.S. political history.
Context and Speculation
Hale Boggs was a powerful critic of the Nixon administration. He had pushed for the House investigation into Vice President Spiro Agnew (who resigned shortly after). Some conspiracy theories suggest sabotage or assassination, though no evidence exists.
"Hale was not a reckless man. He trusted his pilot. Something happened up there that we may never understand."
– Peggy Boggs (Hale's widow, 1972 press conference)
The disappearance occurred inside the Alaska Triangle, a region notorious for vanishings. The "no trace" nature fits the pattern: planes disappear into clear skies, no wreckage, no signals. These disappearances happen in far greater numbers than even the infamous Bermuda Triangle.
Legacy
Hale Boggs was succeeded in Congress by his wife Lindy Boggs. Lindy was the first woman elected from Louisiana. Nick Begich's brother Mark Begich later became a U.S. Senator from Alaska.
The case remains a benchmark for "vanishings without trace" in the Alaska Triangle. It is frequently cited in documentaries, books, and investigations into the region's deadly reputation.
Location / Anomalies:
- Primary flight path: Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska (last radar contact over Chugach Mountains / Prince William Sound area)
- Coords (approximate last known position): 61.0000° N, 147.0000° W
- Anomalies: Cessna 310 vanished with 4 people aboard, no distress call, no ELT signal, no wreckage or bodies after 39-day search covering 40,000+ square miles, largest search in U.S. history, "cause undetermined" by NTSB, occurred in Alaska Triangle hotspot.
Sources / Balance:
NTSB Aircraft Accident Report (1974)
FAA and military radar logs
Alaska Bureau of Investigation case files
Contemporary newspaper coverage (Anchorage Daily News, Washington Post)
Peggy Boggs family statements (1972 press conferences)
Search pilot and rescue team interviews (1972 archives)
Alaska Triangle documentary series references
Final Verdict
THE PLANE THAT NEVER LANDED. On a clear October morning in 1972, the second most powerful man in Congress boarded a small plane in Anchorage and vanished forever. Forty days, 40 aircraft, millions of dollars, and the largest search in U.S. history, and not a single piece of wreckage, not a body, not a signal ever found. No distress call. No explanation.Hale Boggs and Nick Begich disappeared into the Alaska Triangle as if the sky simply swallowed them.
The Official verdict was noted as: undetermined. The truth may lie buried under ice, lost in the sea, or hidden in something stranger. Whatever happened to these people must have happened instantly as there was not even time to radio a mayday or send a distress signal. When a plane full of powerful men vanishes without a trace and a HUGE search is conducted and absolutely nothing is found the question is: What took them… and why?