Fluorescent Pink Paper Aircraft Missing in Marshall County; Reward Offered

  
 
A unit of the Civil Air Patrol based in West Chicago, Ill., is asking for the public’s help in recovering a paper aircraft that went missing after it was launched from a high-altitude balloon as part of a Guinness World Record attempt. Fox Valley Composite Squadron launched the aircraft on Saturday, Dec. 28, and they believe it landed somewhere in Marshall County.

The squadron is offering a reward to anyone who locates and returns the 28-inch fluorescent pink aircraft and its payload consisting of a GPS tracking system, HD video camera, flight computer and batteries. The plane crashed after an equipment failure occurred as it soared northwest of Plymouth, sending it cascading down 54,981 feet before it stopped reporting location and altitude. Fortunately, the telemetry equipment continued broadcasting data for another eight minutes before it too was lost.

The team hopes that everyone in and around the area will check their properties for the missing paper aircraft and its payload. The object is a large fluorescent pink aircraft made of cardboard and posterboard with a 28-inch wingspan.

If you have located the item, call 1st Lt. Gary Brown at (630) 660-8231 or email gary@foxcap.org. For more information, visit foxcap.org.