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The search for Carl Ben Eielson, 1929-1930
Carl Ben Eielson, Alaska Aviation Pioneer
The search for Carl Ben Eielson: Chronology
Dateline: April 20, 2023
This page is under construction (April 26, 2023)
Saturday, November 2, 1929, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Washington)
NOME, Alaska, Nov. 2 - (AP) - Two Alaska Airways planes, piloted by Ben Eielson and Frank Dorbandt, which left North Cape, Siberia, with six passengers and 1,000
pounds of furs aboard Thursday morning intending to reach here the same day, had failed to arrive at a late hour yesterday.
Heavy snowstorms along Bering straits, it was believed here, might have foreed the planes down in the vicinity of East Cape on the Siberian coast, where they would be out of communication* with the outside world.
The Alaska Airways Company recently contracted with a trading company to bring a number of passengers and a large quantity of furs to Nome for reshipment to Seattle. It was estimated at it would require fifteen trips to fulfill the contract.
Saturday, November 17, 1929, The Sioux City Sunday Journal (Sioux City, Iowa)
NOME, Alaska, Nov. 2 - (AP) - Pilots Carl Ben Eielson and Frank Dorbandt were still stormbound Saturday awaiting another opportunity to fly to North cape, Siberia, near which the Swenson fur trading ship Nanuk is frozen in the Arctic ice pack.
Eielson and Dorbrandt each have made one trip to the ship, bringing back to the mainland six men and a fortune in furs. Eielson has been stormbound in the vicinity of Cape Serbge since November 9, while Dorbandt is grounded by unfavorable weather conditions at Teller.
Among those aboard the Nanuk, which will not be released by the ice until next summer, are Olaf Swenson, of Seattle, and his daughter, Marion, who are expected to stay aboard the ship until the last of the fur cargo has been transferred by air to the mainiand of Alaska. This, it was predicted here, might take a month, due to the uncertain flying weather.
Monday, November 18, 1929, The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Washington)
SEATTLE, Nov. 18 - (AP) - The silent fastnesses of the Far North continued today to hold in its embrace the fate of the persons marooned on the Swenson Fur Trading Company's ship Nanuk and the Soviet ship Stavropol, both of which are locked in the ice at North Cape Siberia.
Word was also lacking from Pilot Frank Dorbandt, stormbound for more than a week at Teller, Alaska, and from Pilot Carl Ben Eielson, veteran Alaskan flyer, who was presumably forced down somewhere on the Siberian coast in the vicinity of North Cape.
Eielson and Dorbandt are attempting the rescue of those on board the Nanuk and the Stravopol They made one trip, bringing six passengers and a quantity of furs from the Nanuk to Nome, Alaska. When they attempted to return to the Nanuk, which still
has nine persons aboard, including Olaf Swenson, head of the fur company, and his daughter, Marion, they were forced to take refuge from storms which have been raging for several days in the North Cape area. Dorbandt landed at Teller, while Eielson's exact whereabouts was unknown.
Word was received Saturday from Nome that Dorbandt intended to make an attempt to reach the Nanuk yesterday, but there were no further messages from him. His failure to communicate with the outside was not considered particularly significant, however, owing to the limited facilities for establishing communications.
Monday, November 18, 1929, Joplin Globe (Joplin, Missouri)
Nome, Alaska, Nov. 18. - (AP) - News of the wrecking of an all-metal cabin plane of the Alaska Airways, Inc., piloted by Lieut. Carl Ben Eielson, on the ice bound Siberian coast eight days ago was received here today.
The wrecked plane was sighted approximately sixty miles from the Swenson fur trading ship Nanuk, whose valuable cargo of furs and passengers Eielson had been flying to rescue.
Details Are Meager.
Only meager details of the wrecking of the plane were received here, but it was believed that a dog team driven by natives traveling along the coast brought news
to the ship as the radio operator of the Nanuk reported Olaf Swenson, head of the company, who is aboard the ship, was sending a dog team from the vessel to the scene.
No news of the fate of Eielson or Mechanician Borland was received.
Pilot Frank Dorbandt, with another cabin plane, broke an ankle [axle] in an attempt to take off from Teller with a heavy load of gasoline to fly on a rescue mission. Repairs were being made to his plane while the arrival of another Alaska Airways plane had been awaited.
A blizzard was raging at Teller and Nome today and the conditions were regarded as serious.
Eielson, who is a veteran pilot of the north, won international fame when he and Sir George Wilkins flew over the uncharted "blind spot" of the Arctic from Point Barrow to Spitzbergen.
Two Trips Made.
He and Dorbandt each had made one trip from the Alaskan mainland to the trading ship Nanuk, which is frozen in the ice near North Cape, Arctic Siberia. They had brought back six persons who were aboard the Nanuk and a fortune in furs. It was expected six more trips would be necessary to bring all the passengers aboard the Nanuk and the remainder of the furs to safety.
Among the passengers aboard the Nanuk is Marion Swenson, 17-year-old daughter of Olaf Swenson, who went into the Arctic on her father's ship to seek adventure.
Fears that the Nanuk would meet the fate of another Swenson trading schooner, the Elisif, which was crushed by ice last spring, was expressed here.
Another vessel, the soviet ice breaker Stavrapool, is frozen in not far from the Nanuk.
The wireless of the vessel is the only means of communication in the region.
Dozens of other newspapers reported as this one did that Dorbrandt had broken an ankle at Teller, rather than the correct story, that he had broken an axle on his plane.
Tuesday, November 19, 1929, The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California)
NOME (Alaska), Nov. 19. - (AP) - Pilot Frank Dorbandt, whose plane was damaged in attempting a take off at Teller, Alaska, to fly to the rescue of passengers on the ice bound ships Nanuk and Stayropol, was reported here to-day to be speeding repairs so that he may fly to the aid of his fellow aviator Lieutenant Carl Ben Eielson.
Plane Reported Wrecked.
Eielson, veteran Arctic flier, was reported to-day as having wrecked his plane, in which he had already rescued a number of passengers from the Swenson trading ship Nanuk, eight days ago on the Siberian coast.
At North Cape, it was regarded as certain that Eielson could not fly his plane, as there has been good weather for three days during the time he was missing and he failed to arrive at the cape.
Blizzard Raging.
A blizzard was raging to-day at Teller, where Dorbandt's plane is down with a broken axle, and in the vicinity of the two ice-bound ships. Six persons and a fortune in furs had been rescued from the Nanuk by the two fliers and it was believed six more trips would be necessary to bring the other passengers and fur cargo to safety.
Wednesday, November 20, 1929, The Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia)
NEW YORK, Nov. 19. - (United News.) - All available airplanes and pilots in the Alaskan area are being pressed into service in the search for Carl Ben Eielson, noted aviator-explorer, who is lost somewhere in the ice-locked seas off the far northern coast of Siberia, officials of the Aviation Corporation here were informed today.
Eielson has been missing since November 9, when he headed out from Teller, Alaska, into a raging blizzard. He was flying across the bleak wastes of the arctic seas to rescue passengers on the fur-trading motor ship, Nanuk, icebound off North cape since September.
The flier was reported lost in a telegram received here today by G. B.
Grosvenor, president of the Aviation Corporation. The message came from Frank Dorbandt, Eielson’s friend and flying mate.
"Eielson and I left Teller for North Cape, Siberia, on November 9," the
message said. "One hour out I turned back. Eielson went on. There was a blizzard and it has been storming since. Eielson was sighted by natives 60 miles off North Cape, but did
not land. It was nearly dark and visibility was poor. Will keep you informed."
Officials of the Aviation Corporation wired Dorbandt immediately, suggesting that all available planes in the area be made ready for the search, and that they take off as soon as the blizzard abates.
Grosvenor said he has been informed that unless Eielson was injured in a forced landing or crash, the chances are good that he is alive. He had ample provisions, was warmly clad and carried firearms.
If necessary, Grosvenor said, an expedition will be sent out of Seattle
to search for the lost flier. "We have plenty of planes at Fairbanks, however," he said.
Eielson is vice president and manager of the Alaska Airways, Inc., a subsidiary of the Aviation Corporation. He attained international fame when he and Sir Hubert Wilkins flew across the "blind spot" of the arctic from Point Barrow to Spitzbergen.
One report out of Alaska today said that Eielson has a mechanic with
him. Officials here, however, said they believed he was flying alone.
Saturday, November 30, 1929, Reno Evening Gazette (Reno, Nevada)
Thursday, January 2, 1930, The Lewiston Daily Sun (Lewiston, Maine)
Nome, Alaska, Jan. 1 - (AP) - With Frank Dorbandt, Alaskan airman, out of the search for Carl Ben Eielson and Earl Borland, missing with their airplane in the Arctic since Nov. 9, Nome today awaited the arrival of two Fairchild cabin planes from Fairbanks.
Alfred J. Lomen, head of the searching expedition here, said Dorbandt had been given a leave of absence because of ill health. The flier has been working for virtually nine months in the Arctic and the added strain of sitting idle while awaiting
favorable weather to search for Eielson, a close friend, brought him to the verge of a nervous breakdown. He will not be needed with the Canadian airmen and others here and can have a rest that he deserves, Lomen said.
Although nothing had been heard from Fairbanks, Nome today was looking forward to the arrival of the Canadians who will continue the search for Eielson and Borland between Teller and North Cape, Siberia, where the fur trading motorship Nanuk is frozen in the ice. Two of the Fairchilds were expected here today while a third was to fly tomorrow with Matt Niemenen at the controls.
Ed Young remained at Teller awaiting fair weather to hop to the Nanuk. It was predicted at headquarters here that he would not get off before the Canadians arrive and then would pilot them across Bering Strait to the ship.
At the Nanuk, Joe Crosson and Harold Gillam were making repairs to Gillam's plane, the landing gear of which was damaged when Gillam was forced down after his engine stopped.
Little credit was given here to the theory that Eielson might have landed on Wrangell island. A wireless station is situated there and a landing would have been reported before now, it has been argued.
As preparations are continuing for a greater search for the fliers it was recalled how Eielson first came to Alaska. Always interested in aviation, he was sent to Fairbanks to teach school by his father in 1919, who believed that his son would be taken away from flying.
But even though his father had disapproved of flying Eielson was the first man to take a plane into the air at Fairbanks, soon after he arrived there. His father always had worried about his son's love for flying.
Saturday, January 25, 1930, Santa Cruz News (Santa Cruz, California)
On January 25, 1930, the wreckage of Eielson's aircraft was spotted by Joe Crosson and Harold Gillam. They both landed near the widely-scattered wreckage - only a small part of one wing and a portion of the cabin was sticking out of the snow. They didn't search for the bodies, which they believed would be found beneath the gasoline cans in the cabin.
The body of mechanic Earl Borland was found on February 17 and that of Eielson the next day, 200 feet from the aircraft.
The search had attracted massive attention - the newspaper archives we subscribe to has over 7,000 articles about it.
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