Magic34
06-12-2007, 02:34 PM
http://www.azcentral.com/community/peoria/articles/0612lakebodiesON.html
Wreckage, bodies from Lake Pleasant plane crash found
Brent Whiting
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 12, 2007 02:55 PM
Searchers using a special underwater camera have found the fuselage of a plane that crashed into Lake Pleasant on May 11, claiming two lives, authorities said Tuesday.
The bodies of the pilot, Clayton Lynn Whitney Jr., 45, and a passenger, Tim Marshal, 31, both of Phoenix, were spotted by divers in the wreckage at the bottom of the lake.
However, special equipment will be needed before a recovery operation can be launched, possibly as soon as Wednesday, said Deputy Doug Matteson, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
“It's not an easy project,” Matteson said. “We need trained professionals down there to raise the aircraft.”
The fuselage was found a day after the tail section was discovered at the bottom of the lake using a remote underwater camera that was borrowed from the Central Arizona Project, Matteson said.
The discovery was made in about 125 feet of water.
Investigators believe Whitney was at the controls of a single-engine Diamond Star DA-40 when he made two or three passes before the aircraft plunged into the water.
One eyewitness told investigators that as the plane made a final pass, it banked to the left, as if stalling, before it crashed into the lake, according to a preliminary report issued earlier this month by sheriff's deputies.
Another witness, Eric Werner, 46, of Phoenix, said he was boating on the lake when Whitney used a cell phone to call him, the report said.
It said Whitney told him that he intended to fly over the lake and wanted Werner to take a photo of the flyover.
The plane crashed into the lake after White asked Werner to shine a flashlight into the air so the boat could be spotted, the report said.
Reach the reporter at brent.whiting@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6937.
Wreckage, bodies from Lake Pleasant plane crash found
Brent Whiting
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 12, 2007 02:55 PM
Searchers using a special underwater camera have found the fuselage of a plane that crashed into Lake Pleasant on May 11, claiming two lives, authorities said Tuesday.
The bodies of the pilot, Clayton Lynn Whitney Jr., 45, and a passenger, Tim Marshal, 31, both of Phoenix, were spotted by divers in the wreckage at the bottom of the lake.
However, special equipment will be needed before a recovery operation can be launched, possibly as soon as Wednesday, said Deputy Doug Matteson, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
“It's not an easy project,” Matteson said. “We need trained professionals down there to raise the aircraft.”
The fuselage was found a day after the tail section was discovered at the bottom of the lake using a remote underwater camera that was borrowed from the Central Arizona Project, Matteson said.
The discovery was made in about 125 feet of water.
Investigators believe Whitney was at the controls of a single-engine Diamond Star DA-40 when he made two or three passes before the aircraft plunged into the water.
One eyewitness told investigators that as the plane made a final pass, it banked to the left, as if stalling, before it crashed into the lake, according to a preliminary report issued earlier this month by sheriff's deputies.
Another witness, Eric Werner, 46, of Phoenix, said he was boating on the lake when Whitney used a cell phone to call him, the report said.
It said Whitney told him that he intended to fly over the lake and wanted Werner to take a photo of the flyover.
The plane crashed into the lake after White asked Werner to shine a flashlight into the air so the boat could be spotted, the report said.
Reach the reporter at brent.whiting@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6937.