Main Content

Search and Rescue Mission Update

photo of David K. Weiss
David Weiss took off shortly after noon on Tuesday from Gaithersburg Airport in Maryland, and was due back at 2:30 p.m.

By Steven Solomon
Maryland Wing Public Affairs

4/28/2006–Hagerstown, MD–12:30 p.m. April 28 -- The family of the missing pilot who is the object of a search by the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is asking for help from the public.

"At this time we ask that anyone with information that can help us find our husband, father and friend, please contact the CAP as soon as possible at 301-791-5342. We hope that farmers in the area will search their fields and any local residents noting anything suspicious that could be of use to the searchers in completing their mission will pick up the phone and call the local authorities," said the family of pilot David K. Weiss, 72, of Bethesda Md., in a statement.

Weiss took off shortly after noon on April 25 from Gaithersburg Airport in Maryland, and was due back at 2:30 p.m. He was flying a blue and white Cessna 172, operated by the Congressional Flying Club. Last contact with the pilot was when the aircraft was leaving the Washington Air Defense Identification Zone at 12:17 p.m.

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Civil Air Patrol for their tireless efforts to locate David. We have taken great comfort in the fact that these people well-trained and organized men and women are friends and colleagues of David who have flown with him over the years and who want to find him as much as we do. We ask for everyone's continued support of a successful completion of this search effort. We also want to express our appreciation to the volunteer firemen, the police in both Maryland and Pennsylvania and the Red Cross for their assistance in this huge undertaking over the past several days. Finally, our heartfelt thanks go to those local residents who have called in with leads, helped search teams find their way and fed and sheltered the searchers," the family also said.

Yesterday, more than 20 sorties were flown, each about 3 hrs long. The search, which has been ongoing since Tuesday, is being conducted with aircrews and ground teams from CAP's Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia Wings in the area surrounding a cellphone tower in St. Thomas, Pa., because Verizon has confirmed that a cellphone belonging to the pilot of the missing aircraft is believed to be in the vicinity.

Weiss was seen conducting a pre-flight inspection of the aircraft by himself, so it is believed that he was the only person on board.

The search was activated by the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force.

There are approximately 1,300 members of CAP in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 34 search and rescue missions and were credited with 23 finds.

CAP, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 57,000 members nationwide. CAP volunteers perform 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state, and local agencies.

Last fiscal year more than 1,800 of CAP’s dedicated members helped hurricane victims; CAP aviators and aerial observers flew more than 1,000 air missions; ground teams performed 131 missions and visited 4,266 homes; and other volunteers distributed 30,000 pounds of relief supplies. CAP members also conducted 2,507 search and rescue missions, saving 73 lives.

Throughout the year, CAP also took part in important homeland security missions; many CAP pilots flew target-intercept training for U.S. fighter pilots.

For search updates go to http://mdcap.org.