Flight 7 Is Missing: The Search For My Father’s Killer

by Ken H. Fortenberry

 Dubbed by The New York Times as one of the "most vexing and unexplained" mysteries in aviation history, the crash of Pan American World Airways Flight 7 in November 1957 resulted in many deaths and remains officially unsolved to this day. But Ken Fortenberry, an award-winning journalist whose father was the copilot and navigator aboard the ill-fated plane, has devoted nearly sixty years of his life to unraveling this cold-case mystery, and has come to a staggering conclusion: that the victims of the crash were deliberately murdered. A remarkably researched book packed with information and emotion, Flight 7 Is Missing: The Search for My Father's Killer is a gripping page-turner that reads like a fast-paced murder mystery. Join Fortenberry on his crusade as he tirelessly tracks down every possible lead and eventually exposes the person he believes responsible for this tragic crime. Capt. John J. Nance, Alaska Airlines (Author and Aviation Analyst, ABC World News): To we professional pilots routinely flying the oceans of planet earth, the possibility that our loved ones back home might someday be told that our flight is missing is beyond a recurring nightmare. Author Ken Fortenberry yanks you into the dark heart of such a nightmare as he chases the missing answers to a major airline disaster across the cold trails of six decades, all to answer the key question which has haunted him since his early years: Who killed his father. This is a must-read!

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, History

360 pages, Paperback

Published May 19, 2020

About the author

Author-investigative journalist Ken H. Fortenberry has earned more than 200 state, regional and national awards for journalism excellence including the National Sigma Delta Chi Bronze Medallion in Public Service and the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award for a series he directed that led to changes in teacher hiring laws in more than 30 states.

Both the Georgia and the South Carolina Press Associations have awarded him their prestigious Freedom of Information awards for his courageous investigative reporting.

He gained national recognition in 1987 when his house was rocked by two explosions because of stories he published in the McCormick (S.C.) Messenger. His coverage of corruption in local law enforcement led to a federal prison term for the sheriff, the bribery conviction of the sheriff’s replacement, the exposure of the chief deputy as an ex-convict, and changes in state law enforcement certification.

He was featured on the CBS News program 60 Minutes, the NBC Today show, and his story was reported by United Press International (UPI), the Associated Press and in dozens of publications including Newsweek and The New York Times.

A former member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Alabama’s College of Communications, he is a past chairman of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association Editorial Committee and a former member of the Board of Publications at the University of Southern Mississippi. Ken is an alumni of Leadership Florida.

He was the first president and founder of the Denver (NC) Area Business Association and was named Denver’s Citizen of the Year in 2003.

Ken grew up in Florida, California, South Carolina and in Bad Tolz, a small town in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, but he left his heart in San Francisco.

A Vietnam-era U.S. Army veteran, he began his writing career in North Carolina where he met his future wife, the former Anna Jonas, and they were married in 1975.

Ken has edited, published or owned newspapers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.

His hobbies include trout fishing, camping, traveling, genealogy and historical research.

Ken and Anna live in the North Carolina mountains and have five grown children and eight grandchildren.

He is is currently working on his next book – The Field on Hanging Tree Road – a riveting coming-of-age novel set during Vietnam and the Civil Rights era in the South. This is a story of love, hate, politics, murder and mystery. Look for it in 2021.

Ken is a member of the Pan Am Historical Foundation, the Nonfiction Authors Association and The Authors Guild.

Reviews

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me some contortions to get through, not due to any fault of the book itself. Its just my weird sleep disorder has been a real bear lately. I did a lot of re-reading, forgetting the story, and taking longer and longer breaks from it. This intrepid son was determined to find an answer to what happened, if it took until his last breath. You have to admire that kind of dedication to his love for his father. Advance electronic review copy was provided by NetGalley, author Ken Fortenberry, and the publisher.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author and investigative journalist Ken H. Fortenberry's courage, determination and devotion is next to none as he spends nearly 60 years investigating the death of his father who was a member of the crew in Pan American World Airways Flight 7 that crashed into the Pacific ocean in November 1957.
This tragic mystery resulted in 44 deaths and is officially unsolved to this day.
This fast-paced, gripping page turner is full of information due to the author's relentless investigative work.
Bravo Mr. Fortenberry for your rigorous determination in telling a story that needs to be told.

Thank you to NetGalley and Independent Publishers Group/Fayetteville Mafia Press for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

[Donald Stinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My God. If you read only one book this year, this is the one to get your hands on. Exceptionally well-written by author Ken Fortenberry, "Flight 7 Is Missing" evocatively tells the story of his father, his family, and his fifty year crusade to find the truth behind one of the most baffling events in American aviation history. It is a stunning piece of work that will keep you riveted from beginning to end.

Donald M. Stinson, Author, "Downstairs at the White House"

[Sheila Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young boy waved goodbye to his father, a co-pilot of Pan-Am Flight 7 bound for Honolulu from San Francisco in November, 1957.
Ken Fortenberry’s father died that day in a horrific crash in the Pacific. The crash killed 44 and was never solved in “official” investigations.
More than 60 years later, Fortenberry finishes the investigation of his life after only getting apathy, dead-ends and incompetence from official channels.
The result is a thrilling read, and a satisfying and surprising finale.

[Sheila K · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Oh, please, Daddy, don’t be dead. Please, God, bring my daddy home!” The heart-wrenching plea of the author, Ken Fortenberry, when he was six years old. Book lovers are always on the hunt for their next good read. For many readers, good writing is the first qualifier, often eclipsing subject matter. Flight 7 Is Missing: The Search For My Father’s Killer does not disappoint. You’ll enjoy a real-life tragedy, the pain and heart-ache of a loving family who lost their hero husband and father. It is an aviation whodunit and tells the persistent, meticulous, and decades-long research by the author to discover the causes of the crash of the luxury airliner co-piloted by his dad. The years of ups and downs in piecing together the facts through interviews and document searches is intriguing. Fortenberry’s writing flows with ease, drawing you in, captivating, and transporting you to November 1957 when Flight 7, a Pan American Boeing Stratocruiser, mysteriously drops off the radar in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Interspersed throughout the narrative are his dad’s letters home, providing you with a glimpse of the man who wasn’t afraid of sharing his love of family. It’s a fast-paced page-turner!

[Elizabeth Carlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ken Fortenberry's novel "Flight 7 Is Missing: The Search For My Father's Killer" explores the disappearance of the Pan Am stratocruiser Romance Of The Skies. The author's 50+ year search for answers is conducted with the skepticism of a seasoned investigative journalist as he uncovers and dissects every lead he can find. At the same time, he presents the human side of this tragedy in a way that is both gut-wrenching and personal.

Using narratives, interviews, letters, and more, Fortenberry introduces his readers not just to his father (pilot-navigator William Fortenberry), but also the other 43 victims aboard the ill-fated aircraft. Names, backgrounds, pictures... with each turn of the page you get to know the people tied to this tragic story in a way that humanizes it.

By the end, I was just as convinced as the author was of what happened to Romance of the Skies. But more than that, I felt the emotional journey in a way that will linger with me long after I set the book on my shelf. I highly recommend it.

[Joe Atkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ken Fortenberry’s Flight 7 Is Missing fulfills a half-century-plus promise the author made as a young teenager to his late copilot father, one of the 44 on board to perish when their Pan American Stratocruiser crashed mysteriously into the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Honolulu on November 8, 1957. A veteran journalist, Fortenberry made it his life’s mission to find out what caused that crash. Was it Pan Am’s poor maintenance, a foreign attack, a UFO, or sabotage by one of the two very suspicious people on that plane. Fortenberry comes up with an answer, something the federal government was never able to do. Fortenberry’s passion is in full force in this book, and he makes it a compelling read.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling read. Fortenberry takes the reader through his nearly lifelong quest to learn what led to the crash of Pan Am Flight 7 and the loss of his father and 43 other souls who were on board. Through his dogged search for answers, he pushes past a barrage of closed doors and through decades-old shoddy and negligent investigative work. In so doing, he also tells a deeply personal story. A winner on multiple levels.

[Jennifer Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels odd to call this a great story because it’s not a story, it’s real life. I really can not imagine spending over half my life searching for answers for the murder of a family member. This is a heart wrenching story of a man who seems to finally found some peace about his father’s death. The painstaking efforts, time and perseverance of the author’s search is amazing. The love of his father knows no bounds. Thank you for sharing your story Ken!

[Mitch Kukulka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched and deeply heartfelt investigative journey that interrogates a real-life tragedy just as much as it honors and memorializes those affected.

Click this link to read my article on the book at ourmidland.com

[Ashley Amundson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished the book and loved it! So well researched, such a compelling read. A page-turner that reads like fiction, coupled with the tangible love between father and son. Kept me guessing right up until the end! Very well done! Certainly recommend it.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Book is well Written and gives you all the details as you follow along with the Author while investigating the Crash of "The Romance of The Skies". A Son keeps his lifelong promise to his missing Dad and himself. There are highs and lows as you follow the investigation over several decades.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhaustively researched and painstakingly detailed, Ken Fortenberry's journey through the onion that surrounded the fate of Flight 7 is the type of investigative journalism rarely attempted today. Fortenberry's tenacity is evident in his copiously detailed analysis of information he gathered over decades of dogged determination to find his father's killer.

[Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so stubborn and biased. I can feel how much the author losing his dad has affected him, but since he is a journalist, I expected a well researched, insightful book. This book takes a few creative liberties by including scenes of things that may or may not have happened as if anyone had filmed sequences of people's lives and events even right before the crash that are complete speculation. The only purpose these scenes have is to set the tone for what the author believes happened. There are very few pieces of insightful information that result from real investigation, most of the book reads like the author chose a person to blame and had to find ways to justify his choice knowing there was absolutely nothing to hold on to. This is not to say that what the author thinks happened couldn't have happened, but it really feels like the author discarded any other possibility just because it didn't align with what he believed. There is more time spent "investigating" things like remote viewings and UFOs than the real possibility of mechanical failure or even any of the other passengers, including the other potential suspect if one thinks of the crash as a deliberate act.
The author also never dares imagine what the person he thinks is to blame would have done to cause the crash nor how. He blames mental instability and a perceived "mean" character without bothering to consider what might have actually caused the crash in the first place. A psychiatrist is quoted as assessing the person accused potential state of mind based solely on third-party recollections and old memories, which is why I can't take it seriously.
The case of Flight 7 is mysterious enough that one could come up with a lot of different scenarios for what happened. There is very limited evidence to come up to a definitive conclusion, but just a look at the causes of death of the bodies recovered suggests most of them drowned, some of them don't have any other injuries listed, some of them had life jackets on and no shoes, which means the crash most likely wasn't a traumatic sudden event like an explosion. Again, this doesn't mean a person couldn't have done something to bring the plane down, but this book points fingers without any real evidence and ignoring a lot of the actual available evidence.
If this theory is what the author really believes, I hope it brings him peace of mind and allows him to feel a sense of closure. For me, this book hasn't convinced me that this theory is the most likely scenario, so the mystery remains unsolved.

[Troy D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A son’s need to understand

In-depth investigation of his father’ death, and the theories that developed and were examined. Easy read that was written by the son who is an investigative reporter

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

On November 8, 1957 a Pan American Airlines Boeing Stratocruiser disappeared from the skies almost exactly at the midway point between San Francisco and Honolulu. The author's father was the plane's co-pilot and navigator. It had veered 90 miles off course and slammed to the bottom of the ocean. No cause for the accident was ever discovered--only a few pieces of the plane were found plus nineteen bodies-- but the author has made it his life's work to find the answers. Up until the final page, you will be wondering whether it involved Pan Am lack of maintenance issues, a suicide, a political assassination, a murder, or an interaction with UFO's seen in that area a a few days prior to the accident. Ken Fortenberry is an investigative journalist and has spent sixty years researching "my father's killer." It's a page turner!

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Flight 7 Is Missing" is a cry of the heart to understand a deep family loss. In this book, author Ken Fortenberry uses his lifetime of searching to discuss the crash of Pan American World Airways Flight 7 in November 1957. His passion for his topic is clear; what is not so clear, however, is his certainty that a murder took place and his evidence for this.

What's good: This is a close investigation of a tragic airline incident in 1957. As such, it is a close look at the ways in which aviation has changed from our current day, from the planes used, their design, security measures, even basic steps taken by people flying. It offers a grim but specific look at how recovery works for downed planes.

What's iffier: The book moves between individuals on the plane and despite the author's best efforts, it is difficult to keep them apart or understand why we are spending time on a given person in the larger scheme of the author's argument. Ultimately, the organization of the book (to me) felt like it needed reworking to make the overall argument of the book more clear. In addition, due to the nature of the topic, the book's conclusions rest on assumptions and a lot of "we don't know"--not something for which the book is to blame, but certainly making it harder to buy into the author's argument.

Overall, this was an intriguing take on 1950s aviation. I felt the author's pain for his father's loss throughout the book and I sympathize with him. That said, I would be lying to say I struggled to keep reading the book due to the roundabout nature of the organization, and for that I'm giving this 3 stars.

(Note: This review is based on an ARC provided to me by NetGalley.)

[Anthony Pignataro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I REALLY wanted to like this book more than I did. It’s the first real and substantial book on the mysterious crash of Pan Am 7, which went down in the middle of the Pacific in 1957, killing all aboard. My interest in the crash stems from the fact that a cousin of mine was the flight engineer, while author Ken Fortenberry is also tied to the flight—his dad was the plane’s navigator.

Fortenberry’s written a fast-paced, highly detailed narrative that’s honestly difficult to put down. But he also made two problematic choices that really make me question whether I can recommend the book. First, though a book of history, the text contains no bibliography or list of source notes, making it difficult for the reader to know where the author got his information. And second, Fortenberry chose to write fictionalized scenes on board the aircraft immediately before and during the crash—scenes with action and dialogue that simply aren’t knowable.

Again, Fortenberry is a great writer who has clearly spent a lifetime investigating the crash that killed his father. Had he included a source list and not fictionalized sequences, I would have given this five stars.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the summer read you are waiting for. Lots of Mystery, great characters and it is all true. Ken has been searches for his father's killer for over 50 years and now he has finally put the pieces together. No spoilers here. Just read the book.

[Michael Ludden · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a notoriously unreliable Boeing Stratocruiser went down in the middle of the Pacific in 1957, writer Ken Fortenberry’s father was in the cockpit.
In the decades since, Fortenberry has turned over every stone imaginable to find out why. And to find out why the government did so little to investigate.
How could the “Romance of the Skies” disappear with no explanation?
There was a massive search. The remains of a handful of the 44 people on board were recovered. But afterward, the government was eager to close the books.
And, it seems, just as eager to prevent the author from uncovering the truth. In “Flight 7 is missing… the Search for my father’s killer” we find the fascinating – and frightening – result of his burning determination to find the answer.
Pan American had conducted its own investigation, which the government ultimately accepted, despite a startling history of mechanical problems with the airplane. Why, with clear evidence the airline had worked to keep those problems under wraps, was there no further investigation?
The only real truth was at the bottom of the ocean. It was as if no answer was expected, so none was sought.
Fortenberry was just six when his father, the co-pilot and navigator on the flight, disappeared. Ultimately, he would discover a surprising range of possibilities.
The plane – the first jumbo aircraft ever built -- was overloaded. Moments before it rolled down the runway, ground crews were scrambling to lighten the load.
Several passengers were close to financial ruin. There was reason to believe a bomb may have been on board. And there even was concern that it may have been as assassination.
Disparate stories move forward like the spokes of a wheel, separate at first, then converging as Fortenberry unravels the details. It’s a wonderfully written and truly suspenseful tale. And what he found is, by today’s standards, as unbelievable as it is shocking.

[Jason Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ken Fortenberry exemplifies the definition of perseverance in Flight 7 is Missing. Intrigue, agony and sheer determination exude throughout an account of one of America’s greatest aviation mysteries. Readers will be captivated by the endless variables, twists and turns, and gut wrenching heartbreak experienced throughout the book. It’s evident from the first few pages that this is the author’s lifelong crusade to uncover why he lost his father on board Pan American Flight 7.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of Fortenberry’s book and must say it’s well worth the read. There were many moments where I felt like I was standing beside the author experiencing the thrill of a new found clue and the disappointment of a dead end. Fortenberry crafted a remarkable story of how Flight 7 not only affected his life but the thousands of others connected to the disappearance of 44 lives in November 1957.

Fasten your seat belt. You’re in for one heck of a ride.

Jason Ross

[Susan]

A very personal and detailed account by an obvious top-notch investigative reporter. From the first page until the last chapter, you wonder if the mystery will be solved — and that makes it a book impossible to put down. The letters from Dad sprinkled through the book illustrate where this author got his writing talents — oh, if we all could express ourselves so eloquently. The overwhelming amount of research for this project restores faith in business of newspaper reporting. A must-read for true-crime lovers.