Evening star., 1953-06-15
Search Pushed
For Plane With
-Four Aboard
Pilots Father Joins
In Air Hunt and
Expresses Hope

Expresses Hope
The search continued today for
a plane missing since Friday
from National Airport with four
WashingtonianS aboard.
Confident his son and three
others will be found alive, Leon
Ackerman today actively joined
the search for the plane.
Mr.. Ackerman, Washington
real estate man, took off in a
Beechcraft Bonanza plane at Ma
tional Airport this morning to
aid dozens of other planes scour
the area around Salisbury, Md.
To Scan Swamp.
IT Rave a hunch the plane
landed in the swamps near Sal
isbury,' Mr.. Ackerman said.
THAT is wild country and it
might take days to get out of it."
Mr.. Ackerman based his hopes
on reports a low-f1ying plane
was seen in that vicinity Friday
evening, apparently attempting
to land.
The search yesterday appar-
emily cost the life of Maj. Man
uel CManny) Pack, head of the
Milford Del0 Civil Air Patrol,
whose body was found last night
in the wreckage of his Bonanza
near Port Norris, N. j.
Search Plane Ripped Apart.
Maj. Pack repeatedly had as
sisted in the search yesterday
and was en- route to Newark, N.
j., when he encountered a ter
rifle thunderstorm which liter
ally ripped his plane apart.
Today about 20 planes of the
National Capital wing of the
CAP was shutting in and out of
Hybla Valley Airport assigned to
search land and water south of
a line drawn from the airport
to Salisbury. Other CAP units
and Air Force and Navy planes
also were searching.
Their task was made more diff
f1cult with the realization that
the Navion plane might have
sunk in Chesapeake Bay without
leaving so much as an oil slick.
Fiancee With Him.
The craft was piloted by
George Ackerman, %, of 2318
Ashmead place NV, and others
missing are his f1ancee. Miss Sara
Mitchell, %, of 1926 New Hamp-
shire avenue NV: George F.
YoSt, %, of 113 West Woodbine
street, Chevy Chase, and Miss
Romaine Sanders, 10, of $500
Bexhill drive, Rock Creek Hills.
The four left National Airport
at 6:07 pm. Friday, bound for
the Salisbury airport. Mr..
Ackerman had made the flight
often in connection with the de-
velopment of Ocean Beach, Md,
in which he was engaged with
his father.
Last word of the plane came
at 1927 pm, when the pilot ra-
diced near Crisfeld, about so
miles from the destination, that
the plane was flying through
rainstorm, and asked weather
conditions at Salisbury.
Carefully Mapped.
Today's search was a careful,
grid -by-grid effort. Capt. Robert
Blackwell of the Air Force Air
Search Rescue Command at
WeStover Air Base, Mass, was
in charge of the operations at
Salisbury.
Alan Sanders, father of one of
the missing girls, went to Sails
bury with his brother, j. Mel
ford Sanders, and William Yost,
brother of another of the miss
ing passengers. They hoped to
spur the search in any way pos
sible.
Most searcherS believed the
plane went down in the White
haven area of the Tangier Sound
country southwest of Salisbury.
Search planes secured land
and water yesterday until forced
to quit because of poor visibility.
Much of the ground covered yes
terday was gone over again today
in the pin-point search.
Searchers had few clues to
guide them. One resident of
Deal Island, about "a miles
southwest of Salisbury. said he
saw a suffering plane headed
south about 1880 pm. Friday. A
resident of Whitehaven reported
hearing an apparently crippled
plane headed toward Salisbury
about 8 pm. Friday.
The young pilot of the missing
plane was known as a capable
aviator who had flown the
course often. Friday he had
driven from Washington to Sal
isbury earlier in the day and
after flying the small craft to
Washington, was returning to
Salisbury with the three passen-