VT VT - 5 Men Missing in Plane Over Lake Champlain, Burlington, Jan 1971

[Gardener1850]

George Gregor Nikita, Pilot
Chittenden County, Vermont
40 year old white male

Donald E Myers, Co Pilot
Chittenden County, Vermont
30 to 50 year old white male

[TD="class: view_field"]Kirby Richard Windsor, Passenger[/TD]

Chittenden County, Vermont
31 year old white male

Frank Benjamin Wilder, Passenger
Chittenden County, Vermont
49 year old white male

Robert Ransom Williams, Passenger
Chittenden County, Vermont
33 to 34 year old white male


Five men were lost in a private aircraft crash over Lake Champlain in January of 1971. Plane left Burlington VT to fly to Providence RI. The aircraft and the remains were not recovered. Last radar contact was over Lake Champlain.

All have DNA on file except for Donald Myers-- his NAMUS currently says "DNA Status- Initial inquiry underway "

Vehicle make
Vehicle model
Year
Style
Vehicle color
Tag type
Tag number
Tag state
Expiration year
Vehicle comments	Rockwell 1121 Jet Commander
Airline	Operated by Cousin Properties

[TD="class: view_field"]Aircraft[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]Jet propelled[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"]Tail Number N40[/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

[TD="class: view_field"][/TD]

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/25453/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27116/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/26244/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/26480/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/25824/

Efforts were made to search for the plane in 2014:
http://www.mynbc5.com/article/search-underway-for-missing-plane-s-wreckage-in-lake-champlain/3317944
https://www.newenglandaviationhistory.com/tag/george-nikita/
https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com.../history-space-mystery-missing-jet/107822054/

 

[Gardener1850]

Jul 17, 2014
[h=1]Bid to solve mystery of Lake Champlain jet crash[/h]

ALBANY, N.Y. — The private jet carrying five people disappeared soon after departure from a Vermont airport on a snowy night 43 years ago, leaving no trace for searchers who believe it crashed into Lake Champlain.

Initial searches for the 10-seat Jet Commander turned up no wreckage and the lake froze over four days after the plane was lost on Jan. 27, 1971, shortly after it departed Burlington.

Now, authorities in New York and Vermont, spurred by curiosity after the Malaysia Airlines disappearance in March, are mounting a fresh search and hope new technology will find the wreck.

Starting Friday, divers, high-resolution sonar, a submarine and the experience of experts volunteering their time will be brought to bear on the mystery of what happened to a plane that was recorded by radar at 5,000 feet one second and gone the next.

"I'm hopeful," said New York State Police Capt. John Tibbitts. "They did everything they could at the time with the available technology."

Some items from the plane washed up over the years, he said, but without the wreckage there was no way for aviation safety investigators to determine what happened.

http://www.wcvb.com/article/bid-to-solve-mystery-of-lake-champlain-jet-crash/8205043

 

[Gardener1850]

[h=1]No sign of plane that went missing over Lake Champlain in 1971[/h]Jul 21, 2014

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Crews have completed their weekend search for a missing plane that went down in Lake Champlain more than 40 years ago without finding any definitive evidence of the aircraft, but with some new leads.

The search for the 10-seat Jet Commander started on Friday and ended Sunday. Crews covered 15 square miles of the lake bottom using sonar, a manned mini-submarine, divers, and other technology.

http://www.wmur.com/article/no-sign-of-plane-that-went-missing-over-lake-champlain-in-1971/5191894

 

[Gardener1850]

This is the same model of jet aircraft that vanished over Lake Champlain in 1971. A new search is underway for the craft.

MORIAH | In 1971, a corporate jet vanished from radar screens over Lake Champlain soon after takeoff from Burlington International Airport.

Despite numerous search efforts since, it has never been found and is believed to be at the murky bottom of the lake.

The plane, a Rockwell 1121 Jet Commander, may have gone down near Thompson’s Point at Charlotte, Vt., across from Essex and Whallon’s Bay, NY some believe.
Barbara Nikitas, whose uncle, George Nikita, was the pilot of the private jet, has been staying in the area to try to get the search going again.
“The plane has never been found and in the last four years we have been searching again for the plane,” she said. “My uncle was the pilot. Basically what we’re looking for is to ask if anyone has had anything wash up on their property or if anyone remembers anything from back then or if they were told anything.”

The plane could be anywhere between Burlington and the south end of the lake to Moriah.

“We are so perplexed about what happened that night and we just can’t get a handle on where this plane could be,” Nikitas said.
She said she’s been in contact with a woman who lives near the Essex ferry landing.

“Some funny pieces of things washed up on her beach,” Nikitas said. “We don’t know what they are. They’re in the custody of the New York State Police.”
Nikitas, of Beverly Hills, Calif., said her side of the family spells their last name differently than George Nikita did.

http://www.suncommunitynews.com/articles/the-sun/jet-crash-still-haunts-relatives/

 

[Gardener1850]

Jul 18, 2014

After the plane went missing, searchers in planes led by the Civil Air Patrol went out in frigid weather. The lake still had open water but no fuel slick or wreckage was spotted. Four days later, the lake froze over, sealing any evidence under many inches of ice until the following spring.

For decades, the disappearance has remained a mystery. When Malaysian Airlines MH370 vanished on March 8, the missing plane in Champlain once again came into the public eye and was the subject of media reports.

New York State Police Capt. John Tibbitts said New York agencies started looking into the missing plane after Ray Brook-based forest ranger Scott Van Laer brought it up as part of his effort to chronicle Adirondack plane crashes for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Van Laer has also done quite a bit of research on plane wrecks in his own time because of a personal interest in the subject. The New York agencies then started working with Vermont state police, which had already done extensive research on the subject in the past, and are the lead agency in the case.
“According to (Van Laer’s) calculations, there was a potential site on our side of Lake Champlain,” said Tibbitts, noting that part of Lake Champlain falls within the Adirondack Park.
The search that is scheduled to start today, and will likely continue until Monday and Tuesday, will include members of the New York and Vermont state police and forest rangers from New York’s DEC. Tibbitts said four or five boats and 20 to 25 people will take part in the search. The search date and times will be dependent on weather.
The searchers will use sophisticated side-scanning sonar devices, underwater vehicles and a submarine.
“The number-one thing to do would be to recover the victims,” Tibbitts said. “That’s first and foremost in my mind.”
Tibbitts said that if searchers find the plane, the next steps will be determined by the depth of the water where it is found. Divers are capable of going down 100-plus feet, but Lake Champlain is up to 400 feet deep. He said mechanical devices would likely be used in the deeper water.

http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/local-news/2014/07/bid-to-solve-mystery-of-jet-crash/

 

[MadMcGoo]

This is a very interesting case. Refreshing the thread...

 

[Laeona]

I know this is probably a long shot, but based on the information that "...About four minutes after takeoff the radar seemed to indicate N400CP was slightly northwest of Juniper Island" and that debris from the plane was found at nearby Shelburne several months later, I tried looking in the huge area between those two points. Using Google maps I spotted something off the SSE coast of Juniper Island at 44.447963, -73.274852. What do you think?

 

[Laughing]

Weird that the c0-pilot's age has such a wide age bracket. The FAA knows that birth date, that's part of the information included on a pilot's license.

My Dad is a pilot, I understand weather, but is there any hint that any of these people took risks, or was involved in unscrupulous practices of some sort?

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Using Google maps I spotted something off the SSE coast of Juniper Island at 44.447963, -73.274852. What do you think?

Interesting. Looks more like it's possibly a vehicle. Historical images in Google Earth only show it for the most recent image (6/9/2018). Ice fishermen lose cars and trucks to the lake almost every year. For example - this vehicle was recently found and the owner unfortunately was deceased:
Found Deceased - VT - Lee Wiktorski, 61, ice fisherman, Lake Champlain, Orwell, Addison County, 11 Feb 2019
There's also Champ....
Lake Champlain SEA MONSTER sighting.

ETA I agree with @Laughing. The co-pilot age range seems odd. Also there's a range for one of the passengers.

 

[Laughing]

'I don't have closure': Plane missing in Lake Champlain torments victims' families 50 years later


This may be up-thread, or the most recent article!

The real estate developers from Atlanta had wrapped up their time in Vermont scoping out a possible project in Burlington. Their private, twin-engine corporate jet vanished shortly after takeoff, with no known distress signal sent.

"It's exceptionally unusual for Vermont," said Brian Lindner, a historian who studies aviation disasters.

Lindner said early investigators did find some debris washed up following the plane's disappearance, including an oxygen tank and a wheel.

In the summer of 2014, when renewed efforts launched using sonar and underwater robots, there were still no breakthroughs. However, Lindner said some curious shapes were spotted on the lake bottom.

 

[k.nikita]

I know this is probably a long shot, but based on the information that "...About four minutes after takeoff the radar seemed to indicate N400CP was slightly northwest of Juniper Island" and that debris from the plane was found at nearby Shelburne several months later, I tried looking in the huge area between those two points. Using Google maps I spotted something off the SSE coast of Juniper Island at 44.447963, -73.274852. What do you think?

Laeona my father was the pilot of this plane please contact me

 

[bnikitas]

This is a very interesting case. Refreshing the thread...

I would love to speak with you regarding this case, the pilot, George Nikita was my uncle, and we are still looking for the plane. please contact me at bnikitas@msn.com

 

[k.nikita]

George Gregor Nikita, Pilot
Chittenden County, Vermont
40 year old white male

Donald E Myers, Co Pilot
Chittenden County, Vermont
30 to 50 year old white male

Kirby Richard Windsor, Passenger

Chittenden County, Vermont
31 year old white male

Frank Benjamin Wilder, Passenger
Chittenden County, Vermont
49 year old white male

Robert Ransom Williams, Passenger
Chittenden County, Vermont
33 to 34 year old white male


Five men were lost in a private aircraft crash over Lake Champlain in January of 1971. Plane left Burlington VT to fly to Providence RI. The aircraft and the remains were not recovered. Last radar contact was over Lake Champlain.

All have DNA on file except for Donald Myers-- his NAMUS currently says "DNA Status- Initial inquiry underway "

Vehicle make	Aircraft
Vehicle model	Jet propelled
Year
Style
Vehicle color
Tag type
Tag number	Tail Number N40
Tag state
Expiration year
Vehicle comments	Rockwell 1121 Jet Commander
Airline	Operated by Cousin Properties

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/25453/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/27116/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/26244/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/26480/

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/25824/

Efforts were made to search for the plane in 2014:
http://www.mynbc5.com/article/search-underway-for-missing-plane-s-wreckage-in-lake-champlain/3317944
https://www.newenglandaviationhistory.com/tag/george-nikita/
https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com.../history-space-mystery-missing-jet/107822054/

Thank you for posting my father was the pilot of this plane George Nikita . Can you re post this please

 

[Laughing]

@k.nikita and @bnikitas , welcome to Websleuths, although the reason is sad indeed.

Consider becoming Verified Insiders for this thread:

Verification Process for Professional or Insider Posters

After this process, we want to hear what you know about this air disaster!

 

[renaebri]

Oh.. I think that object (top right) is a reflection of the boat to the left, you can kind of see the dock shape too. Google earth does some weird things sometimes. Too big for a car.