Military Plane Wreck in Green Lake

[LKunze]

Anglers turn up plane missing in Minnesota lake since 1958
Associated Press
July 5, 2004 PLANE0706



SPICER, Minn. -- Anglers using an underwater camera appear to have stumbled onto the wreck of a small military plane that crashed into Green Lake in 1958.

Divers who photographed the plane on Sunday said its description matches the Cessna L-19 Birddog plane piloted by Capt. Richard Carey, a Minnesota National Guard member who lived in nearby Willmar. Carey's body was found in the lake two weeks after the Oct. 15, 1958, crash.

Cory Fladeboe, 25, of Willmar, said he and two fishing companions were using an underwater camera on Saturday to see why the walleye below them were not biting when they spotted the plane.

``We didn't believe what we were seeing,'' he said. ``We ran the camera down the whole fuselage. It was very muddy. We couldn't make out any numbers or other identification.''

From the depthsAssociated PressFladeboe marked the location on the 5,406-acre lake, and returned with divers Sunday morning. Carrying an underwater camera, Mike Terhune of St. Cloud was the first of the six divers to reach the plane in the half-light of 40-feet of water.

The plane's military star insignia was clearly visible to the divers.

``It was in amazingly good shape,'' said Craig Fladeboe of Willmar, one of the divers.

Terhune said the plane is upright and shows little sign of serious damage. He said the plane's propeller is bent, and front and back windows on the cockpit are missing. The plane's rudder had apparently been knocked off; it's lying below the right wing. Inside the cockpit, Terhune and the other divers could see the parachute that the pilot had kept at the ready.

By fanning the water, Terhune and the divers dusted away the light coating of silt on the plane's tail, and photographed its identifying numbers.

Kandiyohi County Sheriff's deputy Mike Roe said he didn't know if the tail numbers matched the plane lost in 1958. He said the Federal Aviation Administration and the military have been notified.

Carey was returning from a PTA meeting in Rochester when he crashed in dense fog after reporting that he only had about three minutes of fuel remaining and had ``hit something.'' The 36-year-old World War II veteran left behind a wife and seven children, ages nine months to age 12.

The search that followed included divers, a fleet of boats trailing grappling hooks, a Navy sonar plane, five Army amphibious craft, and local fire and law enforcement agencies.

West Central Tribune archives said a pilot's navigation map floating in the water and a small slick of oil were the only clues found immediately after the crash.

Numerous searches were conducted in subsequent years by private individuals, including one by a man using a mini-sub he made from a 1,000 gallon liquid propane tank. The plane's disappearance has long been the topic for local speculation.

Bill Matthies, who now owns the Minnesota School of Diving in Brainerd, searched for the plane in the early 1960s for the Civil Air Patrol, which hoped to recover the plane's sealed radios. Matthies said he and a companion became discouraged when one man told them that he had seen the plane hauled from the lake, and they gave up their search.

``I just thought this is such a great climax to such a neat mystery,'' he said.

[Jolly_mon]

From Willmar Paper:

The crash scene, though it is 46 years old, is now an active accident investigation site and off limits to anyone not connected with the official investigation. The aircraft remains military property until the Federal Aviation Administration and military authorities complete their investigations



Also heard on radio a rumor of a Steam Engine and a Thrasher in the middle of the lake

[Punky]

I hope they leave the plane down there after the military gets what they need from it.

[usediver]

has a news video avail. for your viewing pleasure.
!!!!!! UPDATED!!!!!! twice!!!!
********************************************
actual video at...http://wcco.dayport.com/launcher/2180/
to check it out
*********************************************
Plane Lost in 1958 Believed Found Near Spicer

The wreck of a small military plane -- missing for more than four
decades --
apparently has been found in Green Lake near Spicer, Minnesota.

Anglers using an underwater camera stumbled onto the wreck.

Cory Fladeboe of Willmar says he and two fishing companions were using
an
underwater camera to see why the walleye weren't biting when they
spotted
the plane.

Divers who photographed the plane say its description matches the
Cessna
L-19 Birddog piloted by Captain Richard Carey, a Minnesota National
Guard
member who lived in Willmar. Carey's body was found in the lake two
weeks
after the October 15, 1958, crash.

One of the divers says the plane is in "amazingly good shape."

A Kandiyohi County sheriff's deputy says he doesn't know if the tail
numbers
match the plane lost in 1958. The Federal Aviation Administration and
the
military have been notified.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Last Updated - 7/6/2004 7:11:18 AM
Scene of 1958 Plane Crash Is Off-Limits to Public Kandiyohi County
Sheriff
Dan Hartog says the scene of a plane crash on Green Lake is considered
an
accident site, even after nearly 46 years. Hartog says there's been a
lot
of interest in the crash site of a small military plane discovered last
week
by fisherman. The plane hit the water in October 1958, killing the
pilot,
National Guard Captain Richard Carey of Willmar. The sheriff says the
crash scene is off-limits to the public until after the Federal
Aviation
Administration and the military complete their investigations.
(Copyright
2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Last Updated -
7/6/2004
9:27:08 AM

----------------------------------------------------------
from star tribune
Last update: July 7, 2004 at 7:13 AM
Previous searches for missing plane came up empty
Tracy Swartz, Star Tribune
July 7, 2004 PLANE0707




A few years back, Al Sing spent much of his free time on central Minnesota's Green Lake looking for the military plane that crashed there in 1958. Based on witness accounts, he hypothesized the plane's path, then used sonar and underwater cameras to sweep the site.

When he thought he had found the spot, Sing dove into the 5,400-acre lake near Spicer. But neither Sing nor any of the other dive crews ever found the plane, which was accidentally discovered Saturday in about 35 feet of water by two men who were having a bad day fishing.

"I've been looking for that for years. I said 'Someday, somebody's going to drop something down right on it,' " said Sing, 54, of New London. "Everybody talked about it. Everybody wanted to try to find it."

A few men have spent parts of several decades hunting for the downed Army plane. They blamed the lake's uneven terrain and misinformation about the crash for their fruitless efforts. These days, however, better technology would seem to guarantee that a plane would not go missing for so many years.

After the Cessna L-19 Birddog went down on Oct. 15, 1958, search teams flew over the lake and used a magnetometer to find the aluminum plane. But the amount of magnetic material in the aircraft is very low, said Ken Anderson, of Emergency Support Services in Minneapolis.

Searchers would drag hooks below the lake's surface, but the hooks would become embedded in the hills at the bottom of the lake, Anderson said. He estimated that search teams lost more than 100 hooks in their efforts.

"That was pretty low-tech," said Anderson, who had searched for the plane 15 times. "But their ability to find that aircraft with the technology of the time was more limited by the number of days they wanted to put into it."

The body of the pilot, National Guard Capt. Richard Carey, of Willmar, was recovered two weeks after the crash. Anderson said many people gave up searching for the aircraft because Carey had been found. Nevertheless, the challenge of finding the plane inspired police officers, divers and others to search Green Lake in the ensuing years. Technology improved over time, with sonar devices better able to determine the lake's terrain and to search some places that couldn't be checked with the less sophisticated equipment.

Lake poses problems

In more recent years, the problems became location and the lake's uneven bottom.

"We started our searches too far out," Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Roe said. "We had assumed he would be much farther out in the lake."

The plane was discovered in the northwest corner of the lake, in 35 feet of water not too far from the shore. Carey's body was found in the southwest corner of the lake, which had caused searchers to focus their efforts there. Witnesses also gave varying accounts of where they heard the plane crash on that long-ago foggy night, and at least one witness said he had seen the plane hauled from the lake.

One diver heard that story and abandoned his pursuit.

Anderson stopped searching six years ago after a nine-year hunt, in which the topography of Green Lake posed problems. The lake bottom is characterized by hills and valleys, and can be anywhere from 30 to 100 feet deep, he said.

Anderson compared his searches to riding a bicycle among potholes in the street.

"How do you drive through all the potholes and not fall in them?" Anderson asked. "We knew eventually, if I kept coming out there, I could search the whole lake."

Cory Fladeboe, 25, of Willmar and a friend found the plane Saturday when Fladeboe used his underwater camera to find out why the walleye weren't biting. He saw the plane's propeller and spent hours circling the wreckage to get a better view.

The Sheriff's Office has yet to confirm that the discovery is the downed military plane, but Roe, the Kandiyohi County deputy, said he recalls only one plane plunging into Green Lake. If numbers on the plane's tail match Army records, Roe said he hopes to recover the plane and put it in a museum.

Calls to an Army spokesman were not returned Tuesday; Chief Deputy Randy Kveene said that his calls to military officials haven't been returned, either.

"I'm happy that it's found," said Sing, who was making plans to resume his quest "It was a very time-consuming thing. I was basically waiting for retirement so I could spend more time out there."

Tracy Swartz is at tswartz@startribune.com

[VintageDiverMN]

I also searched for that plane back in 1961 and 1962. I have a letter dated 9 Aug. 1962, from a Major Eugene J. Stanich, Commander Hg. Group III, Box 147, Ironton, MN. The letter states that they would like assistance in locating the L-19, and that there was a $100.00 reward for anyone finding the plane. He also states that the aircraft and equipment is Federal property and is not to be salvaged by any person or agency, except us. Frans Carlson

[jasondbaker]

Frans, now that we know approximately where the plan is located how far off were you and other searchers?

[VintageDiverMN]

We were close but not that close. We were looking more to the West. Frans

[igotoofar]

Has anybody heard if they are going to remove the plane? if not, how soon they will open the site for diving?

[usediver]

the july 16 paper in wilmar says they are done with investigations, and the sheriff will no longer be marking the site.  so it looks like it may be avail to view ---BUT!!!!!----
it states that the plane is "property of the state of minn."
till cleared up in court or wherever, so dont take or damage anything , would be my best advice after reading the article.
now, was the plane off the right or left side of the boat ?

[tpscuba]

After talking to the Dept of Admin. it is the property of the state. What is the vis in Green Lake like? I wouldn't mind diving it. I hope diver will leave it intact for all to come and see. I know the divers that have come to see the sites in Ore-be-Gone have been great they have added little things to the site thgat makes it interesting to see. The only thing that disappeared was a radio last year we had on the platform. I think Jason put a quarter in it and when they came up a year later the quarter was still in it. It was easly reached by snorklers so I think the kids got it and it made it to the beach and then the garbage. Oh Well