The search continues for a missing octogenarian hobby pilot in Michigan flying a homebuilt fixed-wing single-engine Sonex plane solo.

The pilot, Richard Martin, 82, was last seen Sunday taking off from Dowagiac Municipal Airport in Michigan. The aircraft is equipped with an emergency locator transmitter device, but the device is not working, searchers say. 

“There are various ways an ELT can fail, we are not sure why this one did. This situation is extremely rare. We haven’t had to search for a missing plane in Michigan for 10 to 15 years,” Lt. William VanderMolen, public information officer for the Michigan Wing of U.S. Civil Air Patrol told WWMT-TV Wednesday.

Mr. Martin, a regular at the airport, goes out for one to two hours on Sunday mornings while his wife waits for him on the ground, according to the Dowagiac Police Department.

“It was a routine flight for him, just for fun, typically his flights last for an hour or so on average, he stays within the area. It’s something he does frequently when the weather is good,” Dowagiac Municipal Airport manager Oscar Azevedo told WWMT-TV.

Mr. Martin took off at 11 a.m. but did not return at his usual time.

Radar showed Mr. Martin flying northward into Van Buren County, Michigan. Some tips have come in reporting a low-flying and erratic plane, but there were no reports of a plane crash as of Tuesday.

Mr. Martin has over 50 years of flying experience and has flown the Sonex plane involved since 2005, when he assembled it.

“He built the aircraft himself. It’s considered an experimental aircraft… It is very well-built, very well-maintained, he was a very meticulous person in all aspects regarding an airplane,” Mr. Azevedo told WSBT-TV.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.