Air Force Pilot Vanished Over Vietnam During Mission in 1967, and Officials Say They Solved the Case

Mar. 15, 2025

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Donald W. Downing.Photo:Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Military officials say they have solved the mystery of a pilot who disappeared while flying over Vietnam during a mission in 1967.Lt. Col. Donald W. Downing, 33, of Columbus, Wisconsin, was officially accounted for on Friday, Dec. 20, about 57 years after his death, according to a news release from theDefense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.Downing was piloting an F-4C Phantom II aircraft during a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over the then-Democratic Republic of Vietnam on Sept. 5, 1967, when his aircraft vanished, the agency said.The first aircraft in the mission “witnessed a large, bright fireball in the air” while on a run to their target. Afterward, officials said that “Downing’s aircraft did not respond to any radio calls.”The Air Force reported Downing as “Killed in Action” on April 28, 1978, after the captain was not located during a search following his disappearance. He was also posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.In May and June of 2024, a team “recovered life support equipment, possible material evidence, aircraft wreckage, unexploded ordnance and possible osseous material” in Quang Binh Province, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.DNA analysis and anthropological analysis were all used to help identify Downing’s remains as well as material and circumstantial evidence.Downing will have a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, according to officials.A rosette will be placed next to Downing’s name at the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu “to indicate he has been accounted for.”“DPAA is grateful to the government of Vietnam for their partnership in this mission,” the agency said.

Military officials say they have solved the mystery of a pilot who disappeared while flying over Vietnam during a mission in 1967.

Lt. Col. Donald W. Downing, 33, of Columbus, Wisconsin, was officially accounted for on Friday, Dec. 20, about 57 years after his death, according to a news release from theDefense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Downing was piloting an F-4C Phantom II aircraft during a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission over the then-Democratic Republic of Vietnam on Sept. 5, 1967, when his aircraft vanished, the agency said.

The first aircraft in the mission “witnessed a large, bright fireball in the air” while on a run to their target. Afterward, officials said that “Downing’s aircraft did not respond to any radio calls.”

The Air Force reported Downing as “Killed in Action” on April 28, 1978, after the captain was not located during a search following his disappearance. He was also posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

In May and June of 2024, a team “recovered life support equipment, possible material evidence, aircraft wreckage, unexploded ordnance and possible osseous material” in Quang Binh Province, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

DNA analysis and anthropological analysis were all used to help identify Downing’s remains as well as material and circumstantial evidence.

Downing will have a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, according to officials.

A rosette will be placed next to Downing’s name at the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu “to indicate he has been accounted for.”

“DPAA is grateful to the government of Vietnam for their partnership in this mission,” the agency said.

source: people.com