Bodies in Wreckage Identified

Robbinsville, NC -  The bodies of two men found Tuesday, November 19, 1985 in the wreckage of an aircraft in a remote and uninhabited area of Graham County North Carolina were positively identified Friday as two men from Olney, Illinois.

The victims were identified as Marty Allen Black, 38, the pilot and Charles Anthony  Wagner, 35, a passenger.

A Federal Aviation Administrative pathologist in Knoxville, Tennessee, confirmed the identification from dental records and bone structure, Graham County Sheriff, A.J. Peterson said.

The two men left Olney, Illinois on March 8 for a 200 mile flight to Nashville, Tenn. after telling family and friends they were going to a gun auction. They told employees of Triangle Air Service, owners of the aircraft, that two duffle bags they carried contained guns. Black, a commercial pilot, worked as a Charter pilot for the firm.

The last time the men were heard from was when they refueled the aircraft in Melbourne, Florida, when shortly before midnight on March 8, the two men climbed into their single-engine Piper Saratoga, taxied onto the runway of the airport and took off for their hometown in Illinois. They never got there.

When the men failed to return to Illinois, a painstaking eight-day search by the Civil Air Patrol was launched along their flight path, but was called off when no trace of the aircraft was found. Monday, November 18, 1985, a pilot, flying over the Nantahala National Forest on a training exercise spotted the reflection of a part of the downed aircraft. The Nantahala Forest is located in the southwestern tip of North Carolina. The pilot notified the Andrews-Murphy Airport and Tuesday a search plane directed a ground party to the wreckage.

The only remains of the men were a few bones and teeth found in the badly burned wreckage. Two loaded .38-caliber pistols, part of a man’s necklace, a belt buckle, less than $1 in change and a Masonic ring were also found, but the scene revealed no sign of luggage or the duffle bags.

Investigators were unable to find the registration numbers on the aircraft, but it was identified by numbers on a key chain and serial numbers on the 300-horsepower engine. The aircraft was a six-seat, high performance Piper Saratoga with the two rear seats missing.

Published in Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, NC) – Saturday, November 23, 1985

Marty Black, 37, of Olney, died March 9, 1985, in an airplane crash in North Carolina. Memorial services at the Elm Street Christian Church with the Rev. Tim Fry and Charlie Duke officiating.

He was born March 18, 1947, in Olney, the son of Bill and Mabel (Brooks) Black. He married Vicki Rose in February of 1985, and she survives.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his parents; a son, Tony, of Olney; two daughters, Emily and Augusta (Gussie); two brothers, Jim Black and Larry Black, both of Olney and several nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.

He was a member of the Elm Street Christian Church and was employed as a pilot for Triangle Air Services at the Olney-Noble Airport.

Published in Olney Daily Mail (IL)