Aviation Mysteries of the North: Disappearances in Alaska and Canada

by Gregory P. Liefer

Russia's most famous aviator disappears on a world record flight over the North Pole. A commercial airliner with thirty-eight people is never found. The wreckage of a strategic bomber is discovered years later and hundreds of miles from where it was lost, without its nuclear payload. Two United States Congressmen on a routine campaign tour vanish, spurring accusations of cover-up and conspiracy. These are but a few of the stories detailed in AVIATION MYSTERIES OF THE NORTH . Far distant from major media outlets and occurring over remote and unforgiving wilderness, many of the mysteries have been overlooked or forgotten, until now. Meticulously researched, the accounts are a compilation of historically significant mysteries and large capacity aircraft which have been lost over a span of four decades. From takeoff and in flight until the final moments, through searches and controversy, the factual events are presented with captivating insight. Historical perspectives and aircraft descriptions add an informative background to the text.
AVIATION MYSTERIES OF THE NORTH includes over 180 historic photographs and map illustration, showing the aircraft, flight routes and last known positions.

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

During my flying career I served as a military pilot/instructor pilot at various overseas and stateside locations, and as a commercial pilot in Alaska. The large number of civilian and military aviation wrecks across Alaska perked my interest, leading to my research and writing about aviation history.

AVIATION MYSTERIES OF THE NORTH, detailing major aircraft disappearances in Alaska and Canada, was released by Publication Consultants in 2011.

BROKEN WINGS, an informative account of significant aviation accidents in Alaska history, was published by Publication Consultants in 2014. A previous version from Hancock House Publishers in Canada, is not recommended. Publication Consultants in Anchorage, Alaska is the only authorized publisher.

“Missing in Alaska,” a captivating story on the disappearance of a Navy patrol plane was featured in Logbook magazine in 2006, and the article "Lost Flight to Brazil" was published in Aviation History magazine in January 2021.

THE LAST FLIGHT: A Novel was released in April 2016 by Yucca Publishing. Set against the harsh beauty of Alaska, THE LAST FLIGHT is the heroic story of Gil Connor, a senior Army helicopter pilot and aging Vietnam veteran as he struggles with an impending terminal illness and the desire to pull off one last daring rescue.
Haunted by the horrors of war and a turbulent past, Connor is torn between ending his life before the inevitable and saving the survivors of a remote commuter-plane crash. Amid the turmoil of an approaching storm and almost certain failure, his underlying intentions are unknown, even to himself, until the very end.

I have been researching and writing for thirty plus years - first as a hobby, then part-time while pursuing my flying career, and now on a more extensive basis since retiring from aviation. I hold an FAA Airline Transport Pilot certificate and have flown thousands of hours in various aircraft. Twenty-three of my thirty-plus years of flying experience was in Alaska.

Reviews

[Rebecca Wetzler]

Alaska is vast wilderness, dotted with mostly small communities, some only accessible by air. Bush air services are indispensable to keep them connected to essential services. It is also a critical strategic location for military defense mechanisms. Along with so much air traffic comes unfortunate accidents. This book recalls to mind some of these tragedies without an end – aircraft vanished into inhospitable terrain, nothing found to bring families closure. It’s a good book to read as a reminder of the vastness of Alaska, its beautiful and unforgiving landscape.