Two small planes collided over the lake Sunday.
One a Cesna 206.
Eight believed Dead.
Two found.

Sunk to 127 feet.
Just about the limit for recreational divers.

Reuters

Saw that last night and it is on TV now.

Tourists?
Or plane rides?

Yeah, it was on the news this am... Sincere condolences offered to the families involved..

206, that’s a 6 passenger can

Likely a tourist outfitter


Any mention what the other aircraft was?

How in the fugg does schit like that happen????

Betting it was a severe clear day.

One in a million freak accident.

Cessna 206 and a De Havilland Beaver - ugly - local folks said lots of flying in the areas that day.

You sonovabitch !!!!!



“Nana to tower control, One Little Indian, comin in for a landing”

It may be months, if ever, they recover all the bodies. Cold lake, thermoclines. I used to swim in it, and even surface waters stayed cold all summer ong.

FIL plane, over 40 years ago now, had oil changed there in his Cherokee6 retractable. Mechanic put in plug for the non-retractable gear model -elephant ears on it, which broke when the gear came up, Oil pressure went to zero, turned back, didn't make it back to the airport, ditched in lake. FiIL lasted long enough for the boats to get there.

About 90 days before MIL recovered. They could see her on sonar at about 60 feet, but the divers could never find her. Eventually did, after many tries.

Damn dude, that’s sad. My condolences...

I heard that story many years ago from an A&P... had no idea of any connections to AK.

Last few years have been hard on Beavers.

I
I don’t know where you’re getting your dive information but 127ft is nothing really and the cold is just an inconvenience for a professional. A professional recovery crew can and will be all over the wreckage in a few hours. Nothing particularly dangerous about the recovery.

basically correct,
i have dove in a long time but even me i think one time made it to 120feet, for maybe a minute.

I was there....In-laws made it out of the plane before it sank- basically un-injured.. I was there (from my remote Interior Alaska cabin) 3 or 4 days later when they pulled the plane up on the ramp. FAA guy cracked the cowling, looked at the oil plug, and said "That's it, then".

Apparently free-floating bodies in cold water don't bloat well and are harder to recover than a metal aircraft.

I was assuming that not all the people would still be in the aircraft. No problem with recovery if they are.

40 years ago? Did this more sparsely populated area 40 years ago have that kind of equipment and training? Maybe they did on Pend O'reille at the naval installation. Maybe they didn't.

Talk in to me or las?
'Cause I
Said: " recreational dive limits"
Agree not a big deal for pros.
Might lead to stupid in rec divers though...

I was fishing the lake about a mile away on my boat.

As the old saying goes Lake Superior never gives up her dead. The water is so cold year around that bodies don't fill up with gas and float after being in the water for a few days. They just sink to the bottom. I imagine the same is true in your case. Sorry for your loss.

That's a fact.

Shame. They are good planes.
Not pretty, not fast. But good for getting stuff & people in and out of remote spots..

las--sorry to hear this, I hope someone stuff a boot up the mechanics arse!

Latest update:

They've recovered 6 bodies. They estimate that the other 2 could be in 125' of water.
One plane was a charter seaplane carrying 6 people. The other was a private plane with 2 aboard. There's no word yet on how they collided.

My (admittedly unknowing) Guess would be distracted pilot responding to passenger question or pointing out sights. (In the private) as it sounded like there were two crew in the charter.

The charter had the pilot, a tourist and his 2 kids, and another man, as of yet unidentified. The ID's of the 2 in the private plane haven't been released yet. It was most assuredly pilot error from 1 of them but they don't know which one yet...and might never know. I'd bet on the private plane. Most of those charter pilots have been around a while but that's no guarantee.

My wife and I flew on a flight in this plane several years ago on Lake Coeur d'Lene. I wonder if this seaplane were involved in the crash?



L.W.

The charter was owned by Brooks Seaplane.

Thanks RC.
When they reported "passengers and crew" I figured they were differentiating from "pilot and passengers" for a reason. Either pilot could have made the error, but particularly an amphibious charter pilot would typically think in more dimensions....I would guess.

Clarification:
Was the Beaver or the 206 the amphibious plane?
I know they both can be set up as such.

leanwolf's photo looks like a Beaver.

Watching the news here just north they have identified those recovered.

I used to be certified as a diver. 125 feet isn’t real deep .


I just muff dive these days.


Condolences to all involved.


Bob

Found the other plane and the last two bodies...Krem2 news...

It's good that the bodies were recovered.

The investigators will be able to tell from the damage pattern who hit whom, from what angle, and who therefore screwed up.

They recovered one and are going back down for the other body today.. They found the other plane..

"and over there is Cougar bay , OH [bleep]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"...................................................
heart goes out to the families.