FL FL- Michael Francis Mergen, 23, Flight instructor, & Henri C. Salvatori, 23, student pilot, missing since Cessna 152 left from P.B.I. Airport, 2/14/90

[dotr]

4091DMFL - Michael Francis Mergen​

Name: Michael Francis Mergen
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: January 24, 1990
Location Last Seen: Palm Beach County, Florida

Physical Description​

Date of Birth: April 25, 1966
Age: 23 years old
Race: White
Gender: Male
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 185 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Mike
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown

Identifiers​

Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance​

Flight instructor Michael Mergen and student pilot Henry Salvatori ,23, of Trinidad, FL, have been missing since their Cessna 152 took off from Palm Beach International Airport at 19:23 on January 24, 1990.

The plane may have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
NamUs Case Number: 102343

Henry Charles Salvatori – The Charley Project

Henry Charles Salvatori​

• 

Salvatori, circa 1990

• Missing Since01/24/1990
• Missing FromPalm Beach County, Florida
• ClassificationLost/Injured Missing
• SexMale
• RaceWhite
• Date of Birth09/25/1966 (57)
• Age23 years old
• Height and Weight5'10, 175 pounds
• Associated Vehicle(s)Cessna 152 airplane
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance​

Salvatori was disappeared from Palm Beach County, Florida on January 24, 1990. He was a student pilot at the time. He was with his flight instructor and friend, Michael Mergen.

The two men flew out of Palm Beach International Airport (PBIA) in a Cessna 152 at 7:23 p.m., in clear weather with three hours' worth of fuel. They were on a routine training flight en route to Palm Beach County Park Airport in Lantana, Florida.

They didn't file a flight plan or tell anyone where they were going. They were seen practicing landings at Lantana, but they never returned to PBIA.

Mergen and Salvatori had met and befriended each other while attending Pope John Paul High School; Salvatori had moved to the area from London, England. They stayed in touch after graduation, although Salvatori moved to Trinidad and Mergen remained in Florida and attended classes at Palm Beach Community College from 1984 to 1989. He was a certified flight instructor with 600 hours of flight experience.

The men are believed to have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, but an extensive search, lasting months and covering a 250-mile radius around the Lantana airport, turned up no sign of them or the plane.''

 

[PayrollNerd]

I wonder if over the years any plane parts washed ashore. Depending on where they went down, the ocean has shelves and less deep areas. It would be interesting to know if the plane was able to be seen on sonar or if a diver could access it.

There are a lot of bodies of water other than the ocean too. Some of the lakes, ponds & canals can be very deep.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Michael Francis Mergen – The Charley Project

Henry Charles Salvatori – The Charley Project

 

[Sleuthster]

This is the lantana airport they were seen practicing landings at. Notice there is a lake Osborne next to it. Do you think it could hold a cessna if it went off the strip? Palm Beach County Park/Lantana Airport · 2633 Lantana Rd, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33462

Palm Beach County Park/Lantana Airport · 2633 Lantana Rd, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33462

âââââ · Regional airport

www.google.com

second one shows airport and laike. ist one I zoomed in because I see something in water.

 

[Sleuthster]

Found this article but I don't have a subscription. It only showed for a few seconds but It was about Mike Mergen having a mishap at Lantana practicing to get his license and had a "mishap" but was uninjured and determined to get his flight license. This was dated 1986. SO 4 years later he's still practicing to get his license seems like a long time. Also interesting about the mishap. Wish I could read it all 2 UNHURT IN CRASH OF PLANE

 

[Sleuthster]

This is from a sun sentinel article when the duo went missing. Of course I had to find the transcript on another sight beacuse I do not have a membership. Atleast we can see this one

In Brief Civil Air Patrol crews interfd to begin searching an area about 250 miles wide for the missing plane today Crews to comb 250-mile radius for pilots, plane Police believe mistaken ID i led to slaying Twin may have thought' his brother was deputy 1 250-mile radius 'Arport i fT5 Island loo Miles 85' go; wS' By NICK MADIGAN Palm Beach Post Staff Writer LANTANA Undaunted by intermittent bad weather and an increasingly unlikely chance of survivors, dozens of volunteers kept looking Monday for two fliers who disappeared six days ago. "We still haven't found anything," Civil Air Patrol Lt. Barbara Randall said. "You never assume anything.

We're just trying to check out all possible angles." The vanished Cessna 152, which left Palm Beach International Airport last Wednesday evening headed for Palm Beach County Park Airport here, carried pilot Michael Mergen, 23, of Boca Raton and a student pilot about his age. Today, Civil Air Patrol crews plan to expand their search area to a radius of about 250 miles, the distance the single-engine plane might have gone without refueling. A volunteer speculated that the Cessna could have flown as far as Havana. So far, the search has been concentrated much closer to home. Air and ground crews have traced grid patterns north to Melbourne, west to Lake Okeechobee and south to Fort Lauderdale.

Offshore, Coast Guard vessels and Sheriff's Office helicopters have combed the Atlantic Ocean. "We've got a bunch of time out there 20, maybe 30 hours," said Lt. Ed Hurley, who heads the sheriff's Aviation Unit. "We've done everything possible. Nothing, nothing." Divers from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's VIVIEN RIPPEStaff Artist Office, assisted by Lantana Fire-Rescue divers, have probed the murky waters of Lake Osborne, adjacent to the Lantana airfield.

Today, Mergen's father, Frank, plans to bring a metal detector to the lake. "If there's anything there, he's going to detect it," said Maj. Dan Powers, director of operations for the Civil Air Patrol in Florida. Powers came to Lantana from Orlando to head the search. The scene outside Powers' office in the Civil Air Patrol hangar resembled a war situation room.

Crews attended briefings before heading for the skies while officers plotted grids on maps. "Most of our pilots here have their own aircraft and they're donating their time," Lt. Randall said. "We have a lot of people who have been here for five days. We have a lot of devoted, dedicated people to this mission."

The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida

Get this The Palm Beach Post page for free from Tuesday, January 30, 1990 28 THE PALM BEACH POST TUESDAY, JANUARY 30.. Edition of The Palm Beach Post

www.newspapers.com