I'm taking a Polar Plunge next Saturday -- yes, one of those things where I jump into a Minnesota lake in February. Help support Special Olympics Minnesota by making a pledge for my team here . I'll be posting pics and/or video if I can convince my wife to come out into the cold to watch.

From work:

By far, the best part of the update was that they have now detected a a signal which they believe to be coming from an emergency location transmitter (ELT). The signal is used to determine the approximate location of a downed aircraft in order to narrow the search area. They have all of the necessary equipment to pinpoint the location of the transmitting ELT and have tried to locate the signal, however, the terrain is causing the signal to bounce around to much to determine it's exact coordinates. I'm not sure how the discovery of this signal will impact the dimensions of the search area, but I plan to make some calls tomorrow to find out.

Another positive piece of information is that they think that the storm they were expecting to move in tomorrow will likely hold off until the evening, giving them another entire day of good weather to search. Both of these things, while obvoiusly not the news I was hoping for, are very positive. After the update, they were planning to spend some time looking over all of the information that was gathered by the ground and aerial teams to determine a course of action for the morning.

The next update I am expecting will be from the search team tomorrow morning around 8:30AM our time, as daylight comes and they resume the search with this new information. I'm feeling really optomistic about tomorrow and hope that we see some early results.

As of 3PM today, there has been no sign of the plane or people on board. An Air Force helicopter has been searching all day and two 4-man teams of mountaineers are hiking into the area to search.

For more details, see the press release. It has pictures of the area being searched to give an indication of the difficulty of the terrain. The pics are from the summer and don't reflect the current snowy conditions there.

We just had a meeting at work where it was announced that our company president, Luke Bucklin, and 3 of his kids have gone missing. Luke is a private pilot and the four of them were headed back to Minneapolis from Montana in a single-engine plane in bad, cold weather. Around 2 p.m. yesterday, radio and radar contact was lost and only today have search and rescue teams been able to depart, given the weather in the area. Please offer some prayers to God that Luke and his kids are found safe.

What kind of plane is it? It’s a four-seat single engine, Mooney 201, tail number N201HF.

Who is in the plane? Luke Bucklin, and sons Nick Bucklin (14 years old), Nate Bucklin (14), and Noah Bucklin (12).

When did they take off? They took off from Jackson Hole Airport on Monday afternoon, October 25th, at 1:05pm Mountain Daylight Time (2:05pm Central). They had been flying for about an hour when radar contact was lost.

What has weather been like in the area? It was snowing when the plane took off, so Luke was flying in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). There was no known ice in the flight path. Overnight temperature in the area was 24 degrees; it’s expected to reach 46 degrees today. The mountains have about two feet of snow cover right now. Today (10/26), it’s snowing and quite windy; winds are forecast to die down soon.

What is the search plan? The search is starting at noon on 10/26 via helicopter. High winds and low visibility have limited the helicopter’s ability to take off before now. The helicopter has been equipped with pads that will allow it to land on the 2-foot snow cover in the mountains.

Hikers are also planned to start this afternoon (10/26) for a ground search; if they started from Lander, it would be a two-day hike in poor weather conditions. So, the hope is that weather will allow helicopters to bring hikers closer to the search site.

This afternoon at 1:30pm, a second helicopter is arriving from the Air Force to join the search.

What kind of contact did Air Traffic Control (ATC) have with Luke during the flight? Luke took off in instrument conditions, which means that ATC was giving him specific directions on where to fly and at what altitude. For the first hour of the flight, there was standard radio contact between Luke and ATC. There were no distress signals and no signs that Luke lost control of the plane’s navigation.

What was the plane’s altitude? The plane was en route at 14,000 feet. The highest mountain peak in the area is 13,800 feet. ATC instructed Luke to ascend to 15,800 feet in order to maintain the required 2000 feet IMC clearance. It was during this climb that radar contact was lost.

Do rescue crews know where to look for the plane? Yes, due to the plane’s straight flight path, they have a very good idea where to start the search. The biggest challenge is the harsh weather that is hampering search efforts.

Is the plane equipped with an emergency beacon? The plane has the standard transponder that sends out a signal as the plane flies. It is unknown whether the transponder is still functional.

Are passengers equipped for the mountain weather? Luke, Nick, Nate and Noah all have winter coats on the plane, and there’s a wool blanket as well. There are also a few snacks and sodas aboard.

Did the passengers have cell phones with them? Yes, Luke, Nick and Nate all have cell phones. However, there is not good coverage in the mountains, so we’re unsure whether the cell signals will work. Also, generally we turn off cell phones during flight so it’s likely that the phones will be powered off.

Fall is coming.


Meg and I went to the MN Renaissance Festival on Saturday, following a prayer meeting and work day at church.