A small aircraft that was compelled to make an emergency touchdown three months in the past has been discovered on the backside of Lake Mead close to Nevada's Boulder Metropolis, in line with a newspaper. The 2 pilots on board managed to flee by the window because the aircraft was sinking and swim ashore.
The Las Vegas Overview-Journal stories that a native environmental consulting agency positioned the sunken plane final month utilizing a remotely operated car and sonar know-how.
The pilot of the one engine Cessna 182C mentioned the aircraft had engine failure as he and his co-pilot headed for the North Las Vegas Airport on Oct. 1.
"My first response was, I'll die," pilot Chad Rodgers instructed CBS affiliate KPHO-TV in October. Rodgers jumped on the radio, and as soon as they realized they had been over Lake Mead, he and co-pilot Charles Wooden labored collectively to determine the place to land.
"As soon as I heard the lake was beneath me, I used to be 100% assured we're going to reside," Rodgers mentioned. "It was most likely 30-40 seconds after we landed, the aircraft flipped over, it was already just about sunk."
After the lake ditching, the 2 males escaped the plane by a window and swam to shore unhurt.
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board's preliminary report mentioned the aircraft nosed over and got here to relaxation the other way up on the lake backside.
In line with maps at FlightAware.com, the aircraft landed on the Arizona aspect of Lake Mead, close to Bonelli's Touchdown, CBS affiliate KLAS-TV reported on the time.
The pilot's spouse, Keri Rodgers, created a web-based fundraiser to boost cash for the 2 males's belongings that sunk with the aircraft.
"Officers didn't look forward to finding any survivors. Three hours after the aircraft went down, each survivors had been miraculously discovered unscathed," she wrote. "They each managed to flee by the window because the aircraft was sinking to the underside of the lake."