Fatal Crossing. Signed By the Author. the Mysterious Disappearance of Nwa Flight 2501 and the Quest for Answers. True Story

by Valerie van Heest

As a furious squall swept down Lake Michigan on June 23, 1950, a DC-4 with 58 souls on board flew from New York toward Minnesota. Minutes after midnight Captain Robert Lind requested a lower altitude as he began crossing the lake, but Air Traffic Control could not comply. That was the last communication with Northwest Airlines Flight 2501. Shredded human remains washing up on the beaches of West Michigan served as evidence of the country’s worst commercial aviation disaster. The Navy and Coast Guard never located the wreck, rendering it impossible to determine a cause for this tragic accident. Over a half century later, nationally acclaimed author and explorer Clive Cussler of the National Underwater Marine Agency teamed up with the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association to pick up the search where the government left off and attempt to solve the mystery of the plane’s disappearance. This gripping and suspenseful narrative begins as the team sets out upon its quest, an expedition fraught with disappointments and surprising discoveries as the explorers plow through archives and scour the lake bottom. An unexpected meeting with a victim's son prompts a search of a different kind, one that would be more illuminating than submerged sections of twisted aluminum. Weaving past and present together through meticulous research and heart-rending interviews, V. O. van Heest paints a captivating portrait of the victims, vividly recreates the last few hours of Flight 2501, and reveals that the answers are sometimes found in unexpected places.

Genres: Nonfiction, Aviation

Paperback

First published July 15, 2013

About the author

An award winning author, a museum exhibit designer, an underwater explorer, and an inductee in the Women Diver's Hall of Fame, Valerie (V.O.) van Heest has written six books and dozens of articles since her professional writing career began in 2008 with her first book, "Icebound, the Adventures of young George Sheldon and the SS Michigan." As the founder and director of The Michigan Shipwreck Research Association, the work of the organization has often inspired her writing. Valerie van Heest has conducted archaeological expeditions on some of the Great Lakes most significant shipwrecks over the past 25 years. She is a recipient of multiple awards from the Historical Society of Michigan for the collection, preservation and promotion of state and local history through her interpretation, writing, filmmaking and exhibit work. Her work has been featured in numerous books and articles as well. Valerie is a regular presenter at museums, libraries, and film festivals, sharing the dramatic stories of ships gone missing on the Great Lakes and has appeared on television news networks, including CNN and Aljazeera America as well as on the Discovery and Travel Channels.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent read (with a somewhat disappointing conclusion), if you can overlook the many typos and grammatical errors, however it does beg the question: if no one bothered to proofread this, can it then be expected that anyone bothered to verify the accuracy of the extensive aviation and maritime historical dates, facts, and figures on which this entire book relies so heavily? (case in point: I visited the website provided at the end of the book, and while it mostly just summarized the findings included in the book, it also briefly mentions Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that inexplicably disappeared without a trace over the Indian Ocean in March 2014, then in the exact same paragraph also refers to it as Flight 270).

All that aside, this is less a story of the search for the plane debris, and more a human interest story. It includes background on many of the passengers, and the lives of those they left behind. The author details the disrespectful manner in which they found out their loved ones were lost, the heartless manner in which the media dealt with the families, and their insensitivity in how they reported the information obtained regarding the search. The author's first-hand account of tracking down any living relatives of those aboard all these years later, and her attempt to provide answers and closure for the family members who have not forgotten those they lost more than half a century ago is especially poignant.

[Chriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting true account of a tragedy long forgotten and how a group of individuals came together in search of answers. Fatal Crossing offers more than a recount of the horrible crash in Lake Michigan, but also a glimpse into the insight and growth that took place during the search process. Phenomenal research went into this fascinating tale and is a must read for all!

[Diane Lochner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Giving it 3 stars because of the ridiculous number of typos in it. They were terribly distracting. The story itself was riveting, and even though the timeline was jumpy, I can see why the author made those choices.
It would have been illuminating to hear more about her research methods and tactics, vis a vis archival research. It’s obvious she knows this story inside and out.
I wish Clive Cussler, in addition to funding the searches, had thrown some connections her way for a good editor and proofreader.
I agree with another reviewer who noted the typos make you wonder what else is inaccurate. There’s a LOT of conjecture and supposition in the book, some of which was downright laughable. She addresses this in the afterword, but that disclaimer would be better placed in an introduction. I suspect if this had been published by a major publisher, it would have been subject to a much more rigorous fact-checking. (Maybe that’s why it wasn’t published by a major?)

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book. Learning about how primitive navigation was at that time was pretty mind boggling. It's amazing anyone was able to actually get to their intended destination. Of course, this plane never reached its destination. The many errors and typos were very distracting, but overall it was a good book.

[Jennifer Nanek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the search and recovery effort for a plane that went down over Lake Michigan in 1950. Spoiler alert...they don't find the plane. This tidbit pissed me off.

This book is very very well researched. The reader learns all about the plane, where it went down, everything about all of the passengers and crew, all about the original search recovery efforts and the more modern day effort. There's a bit too much detail.

With all the discussion about trying to find the plane the reader would presume that if a book is being written then the plane was found. This book was written several years ago, I looked it up and the wreckage still hasn't been found. The author made the case that because several of the related characters might die before the book was written She thought it was a good idea to go ahead and write the book even though the plane was never found. I understand this. But what a letdown.

I do appreciate the eventual point that they don't really need to find the wreckage to figure out why the plane went down. The plane flew into a storm. The weather experts made an error by not fully informing the pilot about the weather situation. The pilot himself made an error in not going back as opposed to challenging the storm. But apparently there were a lot of lessons learned from this effort as far as both aviation and disaster response. That's a good thing.

The more modern search and rescue effort found a lot of other good stuff which is a consolation.

The book was very compelling, up until I realized the book was getting too close to the end for the satisfying conclusion that the reader was looking for.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatal Crossing was an excellent book written by a local (to me) author. Fatal Crossing tells the story of Northwest airlines flight 2501 and it's crash into Lake Michigan during a storm killing all 58 people on board. The mystery that surrounds that crash and the 10+ year search for the airplane that the Michigan shipwreck research association along with author Clive Cussler and his team executed before finally giving into and applying the old saying that the ship will be found when it wants to be found and not before to the elusive airplane in its final resting place somewhere on the floor of south western Lake Michigan along with so many boats and ships and even a few more airplanes. Valerie Olson van Heest brought the story to life and gave a measure of peace and some closure to so many of the family members of the 58 people who went down with the plane. I was brought to tears on more than one occasion as I endured a roller coaster ride of emotions reading about this Lake Michigan mystery that happened so close to home for me.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued about this mystery after seeing it highlighted on Expedition Unknown. The details of this flight were meticulously gone over by the author and it was evident that van Heest was personally affected and invested by this tragedy. She did an incredible job of making a personal connection to the victims and talking about the victims, not just the mechanics of the flight. I hope these individuals will never be forgotten and van Heest has done an incredible service to these families in bringing this accident to the public's attention. I hope, for the sake of the relatives of the passengers, that the engines at least can be found. I understand why the NTSB no longer wants to pour resources into locating the wreck, but for the sake of these American lives lost, it seems like it should matter, especially to those in those in surrounding communities. I will continue to follow the progress of the van Heests and hope that some progress is made on location the crash site.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of Flight 2501 and its' disappearance in 1950 over Lake Michigan until a few weeks ago. Happily, I was able to borrow a copy of this book about the search for it from a local Michigan library. The book tells the story about researching and searching for the wreckage by the author. It does include technical information on weather and flight that some readers may feel bogged down by, but it does help in understanding the circumstances of the incident. I recommend this title to anyone interested in aviation history, Michigan history, weather, or true mysteries.

[Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible mix of fact and speculation, with some misinformation mixed in. I read because of relatives who were on the flight, and the descriptions of thoughts and words that the author could not possibly have known was distasteful.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but a lot of flying info which I had a hard time being interested in but it is well written and most of it interesting especially the lives it impacted. It also took place in our area.

[Kym Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real treasure hunt, while also not losing sight of the human lives that were lost.

[Melodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read, although I was annoyed with all the typos. How much can you say about a plane that was never found? The author obviously did very thorough research to fill some more pages, and the reader experiences the event from every possible angle.

[Ginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragic story...... very interesting book.

[Becky Jensen]

beautifully written non fiction. author gave closure to families. but the mystery is far from solved.