The remains of First Lt. Franklin McKinney, a U.S. fighter pilot who disappeared over Thailand during World War II, have been discovered and identified more than 80 years after his aircraft went missing.
McKinney, a member of the all-volunteer American "Flying Tigers" squadron, was last seen taking off from Beitan Airfield in Yunnan, China, on Nov. 5, 1944, for a mission in Asia. He was pronounced dead by the military in March 1946, but his plane and remains were never located by authorities at the time.
The mystery of his disappearance was revived in 2010 by a group of amateur sleuths, led by then-U.S. Air Force Academy cadet Daniel Jackson. Jackson, who was researching McKinney's squadron for a senior thesis, enlisted the help of Sakpinit Promthep, head of the Royal Thai Air Force Museum, and independent researcher Richard Hakanson.
Their investigation uncovered a document from the era mentioning a reconnaissance plane downed by a lightning strike and a report of a skull. Years of searching by Hakanson in remote villages eventually led to a breakthrough.
In 2017, Hakanson located a witness, Fong Inma, in the village of Mae Kua, who recalled a plane crashing in what is now a rice field nearly 70 years prior. Fong's testimony was instrumental in convincing Jackson and subsequently American authorities to investigate the site.
Beginning in 2023, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency spent three years excavating the rice field, searching for fragments to identify McKinney. In March 2026, the agency confirmed the recovery of his remains.
Following the discovery, Lt. Col. Jackson, who led the 16-year search effort, wrote that "After almost 82 years, Frank McKinney is home again. America has kept its promise."
McKinney was honored with a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Thailand before his repatriation to the United States.