Plane Found At Bottom Of Big Creek Lake

Alabama Mobile Fisherman are notorious for telling tall tales but this one is true. A Semmes man found a plane at the bottom of Big Creek Lake.

by Debbie Williams

Published: Tue, March 11, 2008 - 4:29 pm CST

Fisherman are notorious for telling tall tales, but this one is true. A Semmes man found a plane at the bottom of Big Creek Lake.

Teddy Shepherd called 9-1-1 to tell them what he had found, "She didn't believe me, I don't believe, she sounded like, yeah right," says Shepherd. That's kind of understandable, considering what, he found. Using side scan sonar, Shepherd found a plane in about 25 feet of water in Big Creek Lake.

"I was looking around for structure, looking around for fish, bait trees just looking." He could hardly believe his eye when a plane appeared on the sonar screen.

The Mobile County Sheriff's Flotilla came to see for themselves and in just a few hours, "It's a single engine Beech craft Sierra it's to early to tell the year," says Mobile County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, Kate Johnson.

Fully intact the plane appears to be resting upside down, divers recovered a wheel and identification numbers. No remains were found inside.

"We're still trying to determine when we're going to remove the plane and who will remove it," says Johnson.

It could be weeks before the plane is removed. Talks are going on between the F.A.A., Mobile County Sheriff's Office and Mobile Area Water and Sewer System to determine who is responsible for the plane

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BamaBob Says:

Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 7:50 pm

That’s tragic! Have to ditch a plane in a lake, survive and then die before being pulled from the water.

Looks like the FAA would have wanted to recover that plane and if not them some insurance company sure should have looked for it. Interesting…...

ctate@sixinc.net Says:

Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 6:08 pm

bamabob - From what i remember Doug was returning to Mobile from Meridian, Ms. He apparently was able to get out of the plane but must have drowned. We lost contact with his wife after awhile. We don’t know if he ran out of gas or had engine problems but it appears that he was able to glide it into the water without breaking it apart. I don’t know the reason that the plane was not removed before now.

BamaBob Says:

Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 4:22 pm

ctate - Sounds like you were right. Do you remember anything about the crash? The image of the plane looks like it was in pretty good shape resting at the bottom of the lake.

BamaBob Says:

Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 12:21 pm

The Beech Sierra I found went down in March 1982.

BamaBob Says:

Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Has anything been learned about this plane yet?

ctate@sixinc.net Says:

Wed, Mar 12, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Many years ago, around 1981 or 1982, we had a friend, Doug Flint, that crashed into Big Creek Lake. His body was found but I don’t know if the plane was ever removed from the lake. There should be records in the Mobile Press Register as the search for him went on for awhiile.

BamaBob Says:

Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 9:51 pm

The only Beech Sierra I can find missing in the Big Creek Lake area has the N-Number of N18878.

That plane was deregistered and another plane now has the number. So, it is hard to attach a name to the missing plane.

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/nnumsql.asp?NNumbertxt=18878

browneyedlady30 Says:

Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 9:43 pm

Many years back, Dr. Thomas Stewart flew his plane from Atmore Airport without a flight plan on file. He went missing… I believe it was New Year’s Day but I don’t remember what year…. Could this be his plane? He was a Doctor in Century, FL.

BamaBob Says:

Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 9:33 pm

Lost Airplane Locations

LAT LONG DATE MODEL ACFT TYPE TAIL NUMBER REMARKS ST

30 45N 88 15W 28-Mar-82 BE-24R N18878 BIG CREEK LAKE AL AL

http://www.thunting.com/geotech/forums/showthread.php?t=9997

Deregistered Aircraft 1 of 1

Aircraft Description
Serial Number MC517 Type Registration Unknown
Manufacturer Name BEECH Certificate Issue Date None
Model C24R Mode S Code 50260722
Year Manufacturer None Cancel Date / /
Reason for Cancellation Unknown Exported To

bobcat Says:

Tue, Mar 11, 2008 at 9:25 pm

It was upside down and went unnoticed. Was it a Boeing? lol