Super Cub Went Missing In October Last Year, Beachcombers May Have Found Some Wreckage

Beachcombers on Sitkinak Island south of Kodiak in Alaska may have discovered parts from a Piper PA-18 Super Cub that went missing on October 13, 2012 with pilot Brendan Mattingly on board.

Mattingly departed Soldotna Airport in the airplane on that date and was not seen again. NTSB Anchorage Office Chief Clint Johnson told the Alaska Dispatch that the pieces found by the beach walkers include a wheel and other parts of the landing gear. Johnson would not confirm that the parts belonged to the Super Cub, but the colors match the distinctive paint job of Mattingly's airplane. Officials are working with the family to determine if the serial numbers on the parts match the airplane.

Mattingly had flown to Kenai Peninsula with other pilots to attend a hockey game. A friend of Mattingly's said they had "gone bar hopping" after the game, and Mattingly had been asked to leave the bar they were in. The friend said he had asked a cab driver to take him to a nearby hotel where they would meet in the morning. The taxi driver said Mattingly had asked to be taken to the airport instead, where he said he'd sleep in his airplane. He had asked the driver not to say where he was, and when the driver asked "why?", Mattingly reportedly said "You don't want to know."

Alaska State Troopers say that it is unlikely that Mattingly's body will ever be found if he did go down in the water. He will officially be listed as "missing" until he is found, dead or alive, they said.

(Super Cub pictured in file photo. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov