A mixed methods approach for locating the missing H-209 aircraft

ABSTRACT We investigated the disappearance of the 4-engine H-209 aircraft along its route from Moscow, Russia to Fairbanks, Alaska in August 1937 operated by Levanevsky and a crew of five people. A radiogram analysis indicates that the aircraft could have crashed in the Alaska Range and thus analysis centered on this region was performed. A mixed methods approach was used to find the missing plane, including examining aircraft radio messages, historic newspapers, and information from witnesses and participants in the H-209 search expeditions; creating a geographical information system that utilized satellite imagery, GMTED-2010 topography, knowledge of polar navigation principles using astronomical instruments, and the spatial distribution of radio signals in the Alaska Range. In one satellite image a plane crash was located near the top of the Mt. Deception and the fuselage-to-wing ratio indicates a configuration typical of low-speed cargo aircraft of the 1930s–1940s.