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Plane recovery effort delayed until winter

Aug 31, 2018 | 8:15 AM

Recovery teams searching for a downed plane in a northern Saskatchewan lake will have to wait until later this year to continue their search.

Earlier this summer, private contractors located a plane missing since 1959 in Peter Pond Lake. Low visibility, combined with the 60-foot depth of the wreckage, issues accessing the site and the distance from the staging point, all posed challenges, however, it was the strong winds and high waves that ultimately forced searchers to call for delays. 

“While some additional sonar imaging was completed and a remote underwater vehicle deployed, surface boats could not maintain their positions in the conditions,” a press release from the RCMP said.

Underwater Recovery Team members determined the safest course of action was to delay any potential search activities until winter. When the lake is frozen, ice would be used as a staging point and dive platform, and visibility conditions are expected to improve as well.