Family Of Pilot Lost In 1958 Will Be Present

Members of EAA Chapter 1172 in Willmar, MN,have volunteered to restore a Cessna L-19 Birddog that plunged into nearby Green Lake nearly 47 years ago. The Army airplane, which will be removed from the lake on Saturday, August 13, crashed on October 15, 1958, killing pilot Capt. Richard P. Carey of Willmar. Carey's body was found two weeks later, but the aircraft was never recovered.

As ANN reported last year, Willmar fisherman Cory Fladeboe discovered the plane as he was searching for fish using an underwater camera. He marked the spot and returned the next day with divers to view and photograph the airplane. Now, a year later, a team is preparing to salvage it.

"We're anxious waiting for Saturday morning to come so that we can get it out of the water and see what we have," said Gene Underland, technical counselor and founder of Chapter 1172. "We don't know what we have yet, but we're thinking that being under 40 feet of water it may be somewhat preserved."

Shortly before he crashed, Carey reportedly radioed that he had "hit something" and only had three minutes of fuel left. According to divers, the plane appears to be in very good shape-the rudder had been knocked off and is lying below the right wing, the propeller is bent, and the fore and aft and back cockpit windows are missing.

Underland, a Green Lake property owner, saw a videotape during a recent property owners association meeting of the wreckage taken under the ice last winter and immediately volunteered to be involved with the recovery and restoration of the plane.
According to the West Central Tribune, the recovery will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a crew of volunteer divers from the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department diver rescue squad and an Anoka County association that has experience recovering aircraft.

Arrangements have been made for Carey's family to be present during the recovery. Five of his Seven children are still living, his widow, Edna Carey, died July 16 at age 83.

A crew will be on shore to take the aircraft apart and ready it for storage when it comes out of the lake. The restoration will take place in Underland's hangar, beginning with a thorough cleaning inside and out.

"If anyone has any advice for us on this project it would be great," said Underland. The chapter has built, rebuilt and restored several aircraft over the years, but never any that have been under water like this.

Plans are being made to form a committee to discuss the location and how to display the aircraft as part of a memorial to Carey once it has been restored. The memorial will include descriptions of Carey's last journey and the plane. Donations to the Richard Carey Memorial Project can be made at United Prairie Bank in Spicer, MN.

FMI: www.eaa.org