Loggers Locate Aircraft Parts In Dense Woods

Rusty aircraft debris located in north-central Wisconsin last week has been traced to a fatal accident that occurred in 1971.

A logger in the deep woods informed the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department he'd found the parts and they looked like they may have been there a long time.

Authorities had some difficulty conducting the investigation because so few locals could provide them details of something that occurred 35 years ago, Mike Caylor of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department said.

"Most of the people around at that time, most of them are deceased," he said.

As to why only bits and pieces of the aircraft were found, Caylor thinks he knows why.

"The area is so densely wooded that usually when we find things up there, the debris can be scattered over a large area," he said. "The planes sometimes clip the trees as they're going down, so there can be a larger debris field."

The investigation finally produced a tail number authorities traced to a plane that had disappeared in the area in October 1971, according to the Associated Press.

According to published reports in the local newspaper, the Tomahawk Leader, a Cessna 150 went down when it got caught in some heavy thunderstorms, killing a 33-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman on board.

The husband and wife were from Milwaukee and were reportedly on their way to Phillips when they lost communication during the storms, according to Wausau WSAW Channel-7.

They had taken off from Timmerman Field on October 1, 1971 and they were last heard from about 10 miles northwest of Merrill.

The wreckage has been turned over to the property owner, according to deputies.

FMI: www.faa.gov