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Remembering the Lost: Northwest Airlines Flight 2501 Vanished over Lake Michigan 75 Years Ago

Northwest Orient Flight 2501, a propeller-driven DC-4 carrying 58 people, crashed into Lake Michigan on June 24, 1950, killing all aboard.
The crash resulted from an intense storm and possible navigational errors, leading the plane to suddenly go down while en route from New York to Seattle.
The Michigan Shipwreck Research Association, led by Valerie van Heest and supported by author Clive Cussler, began searching the lake floor in 2004 using sonar technology but never located the wreckage.
The search spanned more than 700 square miles, but researchers believe the aircraft shattered into very small fragments that sank into the lakebed sediment, making recovery unfeasible. As van Heest explained, the impact with the water was so severe that survival was impossible.
After two decades, the search concluded in 2025 with mixed emotions, yet ongoing efforts to commemorate the victims persist, echoing Cussler’s 2018 wish that those affected by the tragedy might eventually find closure.

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The Seattle Times

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Search ends for Seattle-bound plane that crashed in Michigan 75 years ago

Researchers have ended a quest to find the wreckage of an airliner that disappeared in what was then the worst aviation disaster in U.S. history.

10 days ago·Seattle, United States

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Newser

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20-Year Search for Plane in Lake Michigan Ends

A group is ending a 20-year search for a plane that crashed into Lake Michigan in 1950, killing all 58 people on board—the worst aviation disaster in US history at the time—after sweeping the vast body of water using sonar technology. The effort to find Northwest Orient Flight...

11 days ago·Miami, United States

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