Search To Continue for Missing Plane
Bristol Herald Courier
Sunday, March 21, 1954

Low ceilings from dust laden clouds hampered air search by five area Civil Air Patrol squadrons for a missing F-51 Air National Guard plane piloted by Lt. R. B. Smith of Lansing, Michingan, and believed down somewhere in the Tennessee-North Carolina mountains.

The area search based at Tri-City Airport was conducted by planes from Johnson City, Knoxville, Kingsport, Oak Ridge and Greeenville, Tennessee squadrons of the Civil Air Patrol.

Smith was reported last heard from when he reported to the Pulaski, Tennessee control that he was “changing his course for Charlotte, North Carolina, and was following a river,” Dave Guinn, past commander of the Johnson City squadron said last night.

Guinn, flying with Commander Carson Baker of the Johnson City squadron, said that several sorties were flown from Tri-Cities yesterday and that the search would continue at 8:00 a.m. today.

Lt. Col. Tom Kesterson, commander of the Tennessee mission said the plane piloted by Lt. Smith was on a routine training flight from Battle Creek, Michigan to Charlotte, North Carolina.

At Charleston, West Virginia, CAA officials said the pilot took off from there on Friday morning and was heard from when he said that he would check by radio with Pulaski, Virginia. Pulaski reported no call from him.

More than 30 Civil Air Patrol planes from East Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia joined in the search yesterday.