The Disappearance

Fifty-six minutes before midnight on 28 February 1968, a US Air Force B-52F strategic bomber and her eight-man aircrew disappeared from radar and radio contact during a routine, low-altitude training mission offshore Matagorda Island, Texas.

Nine days later, and after an exhaustive air and sea search had failed to yield any trace of the missing aircraft or aircrew, senior Air Force officials closed their investigation and declared both "downed in an unknown location" (current DoD status).

Today, the disappearance of B-52F Stratofortress 70173 and her highly experienced aircrew remains an enduring mystery in the annals of US Air Force history.