Beech 95

Beech 95 (similar airplane) Courtesy Ron Dupas 1000aircraftphotos.com

On Monday, February 3, 1992, a Beech 95-BE55, registration number N1123B with a pilot (Stanley P. Macklin of Benton Harbor, MI) and one passenger aboard disappeared over Lake Michigan while making an approach to runway 9 at Benton Harbor.

The Official NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) report reads:

“The aircraft was being vectored for the back course localizer approach to runway 09 at Benton Harbor, Michigan, when radar contact and communication was lost. This approach is entirely over the waters of Lake Michigan. During search operations a coast guard helicopter found an oil sheen and three aircraft tires with portions of the landing gear attached to them along the localizer track. Further search efforts failed to produce any additional wreckage or human remains.

One month and eleven days after the disappearance of the aircraft, a body which was positively identified as that of the passenger aboard the aircraft was found washed up on the shore. Eight days after the discovery of the passenger’s remains, a body positively identified as that of the pilot was also found washed up on the shore of the lake. Autopsy revealed the cause of death in both cases was drowning. The aircraft is still missing.”

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause of this accident as follows: Undetermined.