snor: Mike Terhune has recovered a wedding ring and a valuable fishing rod, but he had never gone diving for an airplane before this weekend.
Terhune was one of three St. Cloud-area divers who on Sunday helped document what appears to be a military plane lost 45 years ago in Green Lake, about 50 miles southwest of St. Cloud.
"I don't know why, after 45 years, it isn't buried in the silt," Terhune said. "It must have been time for it to be found."
Cory Fladeboe, 25, of Willmar said he and two fishing companions spotted the plane when they were using an underwater camera to see why the walleye below them were not biting.
That was Saturday. On Sunday, Fladeboe's uncle led Terhune and four other divers to the spot. Their inspection showed the plane matched a Cessna L-19 Birddog piloted by Capt. Richard Carey, a Minnesota National Guard member who lived in Willmar before the Oct. 15, 1958, crash.
Terhune was the first of the six divers to reach the aircraft. Fred Kovall of Sartell and William Lacroix of St. Cloud also were in the group. They photographed identifying numbers that could be used to officially match the plane to the crash.
The group is not sure whether it can take more photos. Law enforcement agencies are controlling access to what is considered a crash scene, Terhune said. The aircraft is considered government property. Kandiyohi County Sheriff's deputy Mike Roe 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 had only three minutes of fuel and had "hit something." The 36-year-old World War II veteran left behind a wife and seven children.
The search that followed included divers, a fleet of boats with grappling hooks, a Navy sonar plane and five Army amphibious craft. Carey's body was found in the lake two weeks after the crash.
Terhune, a diver since 1981, said the bottom of the plane rests at a 38-foot depth, and the tip of one wing is at 30 feet. Cool water temperatures and low oxygen levels helped preserve the craft enough that it could be restored, he said. It is upright and shows little sign of serious damage.
"It's in beautiful shape. I'd hate to see it getting pilfered."
Story by Sue Halena
Wow, what a story. I'm glad they found it and as well preserved as it seems to be. Those lakes up there are normally pretty chilly. Would be cool to see it get restored.
Here is a picture of the L-19 from back then.