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by crazytony 4477 days ago
Aside from Alaska (which has some radar limitations due to the terrain) I'm pretty sure none of those accidents occurred after coast-to-coast radar coverage came in to force in the continental US.

Believe it or not until 1973! there were massive land-based lighthouses all across the United States that would illuminate the aerial pathways that aircraft would use to get across the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airway_beacon
1 comments
gonzo 4477 days ago
Steve Fossett died in 2007, flying just outside NV. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Fossett#Death
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jccooper 4477 days ago
"By September 10, search crews had found eight previously uncharted crash sites,[54][55] some of which are decades old,[56] but none related to Fossett's disappearance."

Wow.

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crazytony 4477 days ago
He was found a year later not decades later.

To be clear though: I was talking commercial operations which generally operate above the radar plane. I'm not even sure how/if Fosset's plane would appear on radar as he had no ADS and he didn't file a flight plan which means he was in class G or possibly E airspace on a VFR mission (very low altitude).

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