Plane Removed After Crash 26 Years Ago

By Steve Alexander Reporter

Recovery crews pull plane from Big Creek Lake Plane Removed After Crash 26 Years Ago

Published: Fri, March 21, 2008 - 6:50 pm

Steve Alexander

There was an unusual scene along Big Creek Lake in Mobile Friday afternoon.
A plane that crashed into the lake more than two decades ago was lifted from twenty five feet of water.
The Mobile Sheriff's Flotilla joined the National Transportation Safety Board in lifting the plane from the bottom of the lake on to dry land.
The Sheriff's office believes the plane belonged to Richard Doug Flint.
Flint's body was recovered a few days after his plane went down in the lake on March 15th, 1982.
Until last week, no one knew what happened to the plane.
That's when a fisherman found the aircraft while testing side scan sonar equipment.
Larry Johnson watched the recovery operation.
He said, "The first thing you saw was the airbags that were out there. And then, when they (recovery crews) hooked the plane up to the fire truck and started pulling it up, it got almost up on the ground before the engine fell off of it."
The sheriffs office went to the lake Friday to make a record of the plane's tail numbers, but needed to raise the aircraft to do so.
Johnson was amazed to see the plane was still in good shape.
He said, "They (the recovery crews) did a magnificent job in preserving what is here."
There are still some unanswered questions about the plane.
Its not clear now where the plane will be taken or who's going to pay for its removal.
Watch WKRG News Five and log on to wkrg.com for the latest updates.