the world are asking the very same question. how can a plane big enough to carry so many passengers vanish without a trace? in fact it has happened before. tonight, a story of flight 2501. a story with still no ending. 64 years later, and the pain is still there for darlene larson. she was just 5 years old, her father leo wooler was flying home to his wife and seven children after a business trip. on june 23rd, 1950, he boarded northwest flight 2501 heading to minnesota. it never made it. vanishing somewhere over lake michigan. i was awoken by my mother s crying. she did her best to tell me what had happened. that my father was gone and would not be coming back. flight 2501 was at that time america s worst aviation disaster. the plane accept for some bits
without a sign? a story that has no ending. 64 years later and pain is still there for darlene larson. she was just five years old. her father was flying home to his wife and seven children after a business trip on june 23rd, 1950, i boarded northwest orient flight 2501 heading to minnesota. it never made it, vanishing somewhere over lake michigan. i was awaken by my father crying. she did her best to try to tell me what had happened, that my father was gone and would not be coming back. flight 2501 was at that time america s worst aviation disaster. the plane, except for some bits of rue mhuman remains, was neve found. the cause, never determined. the 58 passengers never recovered. it is hard to concept, because you don t have something to hold to, like a funeral or a casket or a grave.
their tragedies. we talked to a woman whose father s plane vanished more than 60 years ago but she can t find the closure she needs. reporter: 64 years later, and the pain is still there for darlene larson. when she was just 5 years old, her father, leo, was flying home to his wife and seven children after a business trip. on june 23rd, 1950, he boarded northwest orient flight 2501 heading to minnesota. it never made it. vanishing somewhere over lake michigan. i was awoken by my mother crying. she did her best to try to tell me what had happened, that my father was gone and would not be coming back. reporter: the flight was at that time america s worst aviation disaster. the plane, except for some bits of human remains, was never found. the cause never determined. the 58 passengers never recovered. it s hard to concept, because
that s what we hope can happen with the malaysian airlines accident. we need answers. reporter: answers that the families of flight 2501 never got. darlene larson and her six siblings grew up without their father. her mother never remarried. and asked that her ashes be spread at the suspected crash site so she could find her husband in death. a single grave site where some of the unidentified human remains are buried marks the loss of all aboard the fateful flight. the living still coping. it s eerie just wondering and just not knowing what actually happened. so while most of us are riveted by all this coverage of the malaysian airlines, darlene larson can t watch it saying it s too traumatic and too familiar. erin? as david mckenzie put it so
with the malaysia airlines accident. we need answers. answers that the families of flight 2501 never got. darlene larson and her six siblings grew up without their father. her mother never remarried. asked that her ashes be spread at the suspected crash site in lake michigan so she could find her husband in death. a single grave site where some of the unidentified human remains are buried marks the loss of all aboard the fateful flight. the living still coping. it s an eerie thing just wondering, wondering, and just not knowing what actually happened. reporter: so while most of us are riveted by all the ins and outs of malaysia airlines, darlene larson said she can t bear to watch it saying it is too traumatic and too familiar. kyung, thank you very much. the human toll of this, david mckenzie reporting with families hoping for a hijacking because it left open the possibility of some sort of a miracle.