Jet Wreckage Discovered 54 Years Later Brings Back Memories for Savannah Man

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- It's like a story straight out of a movie, the discovery of a wrecked Air Force jet more than 50 years after it went missing.

But for one Savannah man, it's very real. Thomas Theiler found out just a few days ago that divers had found the missing plane that had carried his brother on a training flight 54 years ago.

Theiler was 23 years-old when he found out the Air Force jet carrying his older brother Richard had disappeared on October 15, 1955.

"Good friends, hunted together, took trips together, missed him," said Thomas Theiler on Wednesday.

The other man on the plane was P.D. Smith, Thomas Theiler's close friend from flight school.

"Never knew what happened. They were supposed to call when they broke out of the clouds and got on top, contact air traffic control, and there was never a call or a mayday," he said.

Theiler, also an Air Force pilot, flew to California as the search went on for the missing T-33A.

"A pickup drove up onto the base and said, 'Hey somebody found an aircraft wheel floating on the beach.' It was a military wheel. I went down to look at it with everybody else... That's the thing that told me that we're never going to find him," he said.

Until 54 years passed, and a team from UB88.ORG, working with Aircraftwrecks.com and the Missing Aircraft Search Team (MAST), found the crash site while searching for a World War II aircraft that disappeared in 1944. They identified the T-33A using part numbers and other records.

Theiler said he got the call from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office.

"They were pretty sure it was a T-33, and the only plane that was missing from Los Angeles in the last, since military's keeping records I guess, is the T-33 my brother was flying," he said.

Theiler says he is glad to know what happened to his brother and friend, but it has been an emotional time.

The wreckage of the plane was found about 100 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean. Divers found parts of the engine and wheels, but there has been no sign so far of any remains or personal effects.

Theiler said the team that found the plane has offered to take him to the crash site, but he has not decided yet if he will go.

Click here for the Air Force crash report from the Tomahawk Leader.

Photos from the crash site in the video story courtesy of UB88.ORG.