On a summer morning in July 1984 a white Cessna 401B, tail number N7984Q, left Anchorage for Cantwell carrying five men: 39-year-old John Patrick Murphy, Gerald Dalrymple, Jack Dickey, Donald Gabbert, and pilot Gordon Newstrom. The flight departed Anchorage International Airport at about 7:31 a.m. after a weather briefing that initially indicated visual flight rules; an updated briefing had Cantwell under instrument flight rules. After takeoff there was no further communication and the aircraft never reached its destination.

An extensive search of the vast Alaskan wilderness failed to locate the plane or its occupants. The National Transportation Safety Board classified the occurrence as undetermined and listed it as a missing aircraft. The pilot’s father spent seven years flying over remote terrain seeking any sign of N7984Q, but no wreckage or remains were ever found. The families were left without a known cause or closure.

What information do readers have about small charter flights in that region during the 1980s or sightings that might help fill gaps in the timeline?