Dan's Papers - September 14, 2007

The morning of August 25, a warm, windless day, Kennworth Eaton, a 76-year-old pilot from Hampton Bays, drove to Spadaro Airport in East Moriches, parked his car and walked on to where he had last anchored his private aircraft.

At 11:45 a.m., Mr. Eaton conducted a brief, routine inspection of his aircraft. He examined the Piper Cherokee PA-32's wing ailerons, tail elevators and rudder. The pilot checked the landing gear struts for any hydraulic fluid leaks. All routine. Satisfied, he then got into the cockpit, performed the tasks on his pre-flight checklist and latched into his safety harness.

Ready for takeoff, Mr. Eaton primed the engine, turned the three-way ignition switch to the far right and, after two or three jerky revolutions of the propeller, the private plane blared into a healthy roar, belched a hazy puff of smoke and settled into a comfortable, whirring idle. While the engine idled, the veteran pilot most likely scanned the various gauges on the dashboard that monitor the plane's vital signs and set his compass. When the engine's operating temperature had stabilized within the optimum range, he must have gazed at the lubrication gauge to insure that oil pressure was adequate.

Mr. Eaton was finally ready to taxi toward the 2,200-foot-long runway. He adjusted the propeller and gently pulled on the throttle until the engine reached 2,800 RPMs. The airplane rolled forward until it arrived at the apron of the airstrip. Ready for flight, the pilot applied full throttle, the prop emitted a belligerent roar and in less than 20 seconds, the Piper was airborne, flying into the glaring sun. At an altitude of about 500 feet, it banked to its port side and turned toward Gabreski Airport.

This above account was dictated by Bob Page, a friend of Mr. Eaton, who has been missing since August 25. An expert on single-engine propeller aircraft, Mr. Page took great pleasure in watching Mr. Eaton perform his perfunctory pre-flight inspections and his typically flawless takeoffs.

According to Mr. Page, Kennworth Eaton had set course for Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton, a mere eight miles due east of the Spadaro Airstrip. Although the flight should have taken less than five minutes, Mr. Eaton radioed the Gabreski control tower at approximately 1:45 p.m. - two hours after having departed from Spadaro - and requested ILS (Instrument Landing System) assistance. Since takeoff, the warm August weather had enshrouded the Westhampton region and surrounding area with a dense, impenetrable fog, hence Mr. Eaton's ILS request.

An ILS landing allows the control tower to track an approaching aircraft on radar. Once the air-traffic controller locks the radar on the plane, data relative to its location, direction, speed and altitude instantly becomes available to the personnel in the tower. Armed with that information, an air-traffic controller can guide a pilot to the runway. Although a variety of contradicting statements and theories are being floated, the Gabreski controller had perceived that the pilot of the Piper was disoriented and in a state of panic. He instructed Mr. Eaton to return to the Spadaro Airstrip, where visibility had significantly improved. The pilot paid heed to the air-traffic controller's instructions, terminated the radio transmission, altered his course and has not been seen or heard from since.

The search and rescue effort is ongoing. Investigators are baffled by the fact that no trace of evidence has been discovered that could lead them to the aircraft. "This is very, very unusual," said Mr. Jim Ridley, a high-ranking officer in the Long Island Group Civil Air Patrol. "Two weeks and not even a piece of debris? Yeah, quite unusual." The LIGCAP has organized a search-and-rescue effort and coordinated air and land dispatch covering a 34-mile area. The LIGCAP recruited the efforts of the Coast Guard, the Auxiliary Coast Guard, the National Guard, the Marine Patrol, SEMO (the State Emergency Management Operations), the NTSB and the Suffolk County Police Department to aid in the search. "It's an all-out effort and it still remains a mystery," concluded Mr. Ridley. We're all frustrated."

Early on, police detectives had contemplated the possibility of foul play. They investigated the most recent transactions of Mr. Eaton's credit cards and bank accounts, but there had been no abnormal activity since his disappearance.

The search for the white Piper Cherokee and its pilot continues. The aircraft's registration numbers are N5067T. If anyone has any information regarding this incident, however insignificant, please contact the authorities. They promise to preserve confidentiality.