The Crash Of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 Into Lake Michigan

Flight 2501, a Northwest Orient Douglas DC-4 Airliner crashed into Lake Michigan sometime around midnight on June 23, 1950. The plane had departed LaGuardia Airport in New York City at approximately 8 p.m. that evening. The three person crew, along with 55 passengers on the flight all perished in the accident. The Civil Aeronautics Board has never provided a definitive explanation for the air disaster. It has been rated by one internet website as among the top 5 most mysterious air crashes. Among those who died was an International Telephone and Telegraph Vice-President. Flight 2501 was lost over a 100 mile trek over Lake Michigan. The search for the wreckage and bodies got under way the following morning, just as daylight came. Despite heavy fog and choppy waters in the Great Lake Coast Guard cutters and a destroyer escort from the U.S. Navy succeeded in finding several oil slicks.