{"id":23725,"date":"2025-06-27T15:30:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T15:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=829439"},"modified":"2025-06-27T15:30:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T15:30:54","slug":"search-ends-for-1950-lake-michigan-plane-crash-that-killed-58-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2025\/06\/27\/search-ends-for-1950-lake-michigan-plane-crash-that-killed-58-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Search Ends for 1950 Lake Michigan Plane Crash That Killed 58 People"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-default-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/midwest\/2025\/06\/27\/829439.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/midwest\/2025\/06\/27\/829439.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p>A group is ending a 20-year search for a plane that crashed into Lake Michigan in 1950, killing all 58 people on board, after sweeping the vast body of water using sonar technology and even getting support from an acclaimed adventure writer.<\/p>\n<p>When Northwest Orient Flight 2501 crashed, it was the worst aviation disaster in U.S. history.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>Valerie van Heest, executive director of the Michigan Shipwreck Association, said she has mixed feelings about ending the search, which began in 2004.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a hard thing to have to say because part of me feels like we have failed,\u201d van Heest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2025\/06\/24\/northwest-flight-2501-remains-missing-as-searchers-end-quest\/84325778007\/\">told The Detroit News<\/a>, \u201cbut we have done so much to keep memory of this accident and these victims at forefront that I feel like we\u2019ve done better for them than if we\u2019d found the wreckage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After covering 700 square miles (1,813 square kilometers) of Lake Michigan, Van Heest said scientists believe the plane broke up into pieces too small to be detected by side-scan sonar and likely \u201csunk into the muck\u201d on the bottom.<\/p>\n<p>The plane, a propeller-driven DC-4, left LaGuardia Airport in New York at night on June 23, 1950, with two stops planned on the route to Seattle. An intense storm suddenly appeared and the plane went down.<\/p>\n<p>Debris and body parts washed ashore in South Haven, Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know this plane hit the water with great force, and we know there was no way to survive this,\u201d said van Heest, who has <a href=\"https:\/\/valerievanheest.com\/author\/\">written a book<\/a> about the mystery, \u201cFatal Crossing.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>Clive Cussler, an author <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/23b920805ecc2fbd5b9ca8b723afb828\">whose adventure fiction<\/a> has sold in the millions, financially supported a search until 2017. Also known for his own shipwreck hunting and underwater exploits, Cussler died in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope someday the families of those lost will have closure,\u201d Cussler wrote in 2018.<\/p>\n<div class=\"copyright-notice lite\">Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/div>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/location\/michigan\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Michigan<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"829439\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! 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