"On June 23, 1950, a DC-4 with 58 souls on board flew from New York toward Minnesota. Minutes after midnight Captain Robert Lind requested a lower altitude as he began crossing the lake, but Air Traffic Control could not comply. That was the last communication with Northwest Airlines Flight 2501. Shredded human remains washing up on the beaches of West Michigan served as evidence of the country's worst commercial aviation disaster. The Navy and Coast Guard never located the wreck, rendering it impossible to determine a cause for this tragic accident. Over a half century later, nationally-acclaimed author and explorer Clive Cussler teamed up with V.O. Van Heests Michigan Shipwreck Research Association and set out to do what the government had been unable to do: discover the wreckage and solve the mystery of its loss. Fatal Crossing begins as the team sets out upon its quest, an expedition fraught with disappointments and surprising discoveries as the explorers plow through archives and scout the lake bottom. Van Heests unexpected meeting with a victims son prompts a search of a different kind, one that would be more illuminating than submerged sections of twisted aluminum. Through meticulous research and heart-rending interview, the author paints a captivating portrait of the victims, recreates the last few hours of Flight 2501 in vivid color, and reveals that the answers are not always found where you would expect them."--Provided by publisher.