Cessna N93261

The disappearance of this aircraft might be called a good example of a “casual disappearance.” The Everglades cannot be considered land, but it is close to radio sectors, wildlife expeditions and even some people in the forest industry
   who have to boat or trek through parts of it occasionally. A whine into
   the swamp, an explosion in the air, a plane passing low overhead
       attempting to ditch are all going to be heard or seen.

             Such is not the case with N93261, a Cessna 152 which Ivan
             Gandon was flying for Silver Express Co. He departed Tamiami
               Airport, Miami, on a beautiful morning, September 30, 1993.
                 By 11:10 am he activated his flight plan, stating he was
                   heading to Marco Island across Florida on its Gulf coast.
                 At approximately 12:00 noon another pilot heard Gandon
                 trying to contact Silver Express, without success. The pilot
               stated it was not an emergency, but the tenor of routine contact.

             Gandon was due at 1 pm, but never made it. Nor did he
           make his intermediate stop on the route. A search never found a trace.
           Again, there was no ELT signal.

       The CAP utilized 97 aircraft in the search, in 206 sorties, 504 personnel, involving 4,536 man hours and 509.2 flying hours, without success.

     There are other peculiarities with Gandon’s flight. Radar tracking records were pulled to see if they show a track of his aircraft. This may help rescuers determine where and when he vanished from the scope, but no trace of the aircraft was ever found in radar tracking records— nothing that at any time could be identified with Gandon.