Hidden among the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park lie the remnants of dozens of wrecked planes. They include single-engine private planes, military jets, and even commerical planes. While some wreckage has been recovered, other planes are either left behind and visited by hikers or have completely vanished without a trace. As dozens of wrecks remain undiscovered, one forest ranger has spent hundreds of hours going through records, interviews, and the Adirondacks looking for these crash sites hoping to bring closure for families.
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| Scott Van Laer (Associated Press) |
Forest Ranger Scott Van Laer has documented over 200 crashes and has visited over two dozen sites (Associated Press). Some of these sites hold military history such as the crash on Blue Ridge where a U.S Army C-46 transport plane crashed in 1944 during a night training mission (Associated Press). The crash killed all three men on board and was not found until a year later. Furthermore, as Van Laer searches for these sites, he also seeks out surviving relatives to see if they want to visit the wrecks. Two years ago, Van Laer’s offer was accepted by a man who wanted to see his father’s plane wreckage for the 45th anniversary of the crash. The forest ranger led the son to the wreckage of a Cherokee 140 on Iroquois mountain which his father actually survived through (Associated Press). While some of these crashes have an happy ending, others are not as lucky. For example, in January 1971, a twin-engine jet containing five men on board crashed shortly after takeoff from Burlington, Vermont and has still not been found (Associated Press). The family of the five men continues to wait for answers while Van Laer hopes to bring them closure as soon as possible. Containing dozens of undiscovered crash sites, this 6-million-acre park holds the same answers for the family of five as for many other families. As these searches continue, you have to wonder how long these families have waited and how much longer they must wait until they find their answers.
Works Cited:
Press, Associated. "Adirondacks Ranger on Mission to Find Old Plane Crash Sites, but Mysteries Remain." Syracuse.com. Associated Press, 24 Apr. 2016.
I wonder how much closure families feel once the plane crash is found. Most likely investigators and scientists can only confirm that the crash did involve their loved one. There will be no body because of all the time passed between the crash and finding them. Do these families need closure because they don't believe their loved one has died in the crash or because they want to bury the body?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think it's a mix of both. While you are 99% sure your loved one is dead, you always hold on to that slim chance that they are alive. No matter how unlikely, the fact that there's a chance makes people wonder. You want to keep believing they're alive even though in the back of your mind, you know there's almost no chance of that.
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