Somewhere in the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh lies an answer to a decades old mystery. At least that's what some say. Others have more interesting theories about this unsolved mystery in Pittsburgh that still begs to be solved.
The mystery started as mysteries often do, on a day where nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was January 31, 1956. An Air Force B-25 plane, originally used in World War II and now serving as a training craft, took off from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada headed for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
But, the B-25 ran into problems as it approached Pittsburgh. Despite having refueled twice on the cross country trip, the old plane, destined to become scrap metal in the next year or so, began to lose gasoline.
And here is where the number one unsolved mystery in Pittsburgh takes shape:
Major William Dotson didn't have enough fuel to make it to the Greater Pittsburgh Airport, instead requesting permission to land at the Allegheny County Airport.
The plane, along with Dotson and five others, instead landed in the Monongahela River, not too far from downtown Pittsburgh.
Everyone on board survived the initial crash. Temperatures in the river that day hit just above freezing at 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Two crew members, however, drowned in the frigid Mon River and their bodies would not be found for months.
The B-25 Mitchell also disappeared into the river, which only measured 20 feet deep.
The United States Coast Guard and the Army joined efforts to search for the lost plane. The search continued for two weeks to no avail. Then the conspiracy theories started.
Some claimed that aliens had spirited the plane away.
Others believed that perhaps a Russian spy was aboard and, like with the aliens, the plane was spirited away.
One individual allegedly called a radio station not long after the plane disappeared, claiming that he and others had witnessed the remains of the plane being hauled away in the middle of the night.
Some also believe that the aluminum parts of the plane itself simply disintegrated in the dirty waters of the Mon, leaving only the landing gear and the engines, both made of steel, in tact.
Today, the fate of that B-25 Mitchell remains the top unsolved mystery in Pittsburgh. An organization known as the B-25 Recovery Group formed to try to solve the mystery that has baffled the city for decades. It even used remote-control cameras and sonar scanners in the river, but no sign of the plane has yet been found.
The disappearance of the B-25 Mitchell may be Pittsburgh's most enduring mystery but it certainly isn't its only mystery. Take a trip back to 1988 to revisit this famous homicide in Pittsburgh that will never be forgotten.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Get the latest updates and news
Thank you for subscribing!
