Private jet that mysteriously disappeared in 1971 found under Lake Champlain

More than five decades after it mysteriously disappeared mid-flight, a search team has discovered the wreckage of a private jet in Lake Champlain in North America. The corporate jet was on its way from Burlington Airport to Providence, Rhode Island, on January 27, 1971, with two crew members and three passengers when it vanished.

17 search operations since 1971

While the authorities had concluded that the 10-seat Jet Commander had crashed in Lake Champlain based on its radio control tower data, search operations had failed to locate its wreckage. Since 1971, there have been at least 17 different search operations in Lake Champlain for the jet wreckage, but none of them could pinpoint the location of the crash.

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Garry Kozak

Wreckage found using sonar?

However, things changed last month after a team led by undersea searcher Garry Kozak started looking for it. Using a remotely operated sonar vehicle, Kozak's team says they have found what could be the remains of the ill-fated flight. According to Kozak, they found the wreckage of a jet with the same custom paint scheme in the lake, close to where the radio control tower had last tracked the plane before it disappeared.

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Garry Kozak

99 per cent sure

"With all those pieces of evidence, we're 99% absolutely sure," Kozak said. According to him, the discovery of the wreckage after 53 years will bring some closure to the families of those who were on board. “I'm just thrilled that we discovered it, and I'm really happy for the family members that are still around. They were hoping for many years that this would be located, and hopefully, this brings some closure,” he said.

AP

Closure for families

While relatives are grateful and relieved that the plane has been found, the discovery also opens up more questions and old wounds. "Spending 53 years not knowing if the plane was in the lake or maybe on a mountainside around there somewhere was distressing. And again, I'm feeling relieved that I know where the plane is now, but unfortunately, it's opening other questions, and we have to work on those now," Frank Wilder, whose father was a passenger on the plane, told AP.

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