Nicholas Joseph Nick Begich, 40, was last seen in Anchorage, Alaska, on October 16, 1972, when he boarded a twin‑engine Cessna 310C for a routine campaign flight to Juneau. Also aboard were House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, aide Russell L. Brown, and pilot Don E. Jonz. The aircraft was observed about two miles south of the airport at roughly 2,000 feet and headed southeast; the pilot filed a Visual Flight Rules flight plan at about 9:09 and that transmission was the last known communication.

Weather along the proposed route was reported difficult that morning, with low ceilings, fog, and forecasts of moderate rime icing; Portage Pass had been expected to be closed. The aircraft was refueled and had just undergone a 100‑hour inspection, and the pilot was properly certificated. Investigators later noted the plane did not have a functioning emergency locator transmitter and Jonz did not carry portable survival gear, which left searchers without a distress beacon once the plane disappeared.

When the flight failed to arrive in Juneau, an enormous multiagency search was launched, with military and civilian aircraft, ships and ground crews conducting more than 1,000 sorties over roughly 325,000 square miles. With no wreckage recovered, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded the probable cause could not be determined from the available evidence. Does anyone have information about Begich’s last day, the flight, or possible sightings along the route?