Crashed Plane to Be Recovered Today
From Þingvallavatn lake, this morning. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
Today, rescue workers and divers plan to recover the airplane that crashed into Þingvallavatn lake, Southwest Iceland, in February, Morgunblaðið reports.
“We took a look at the plane last week with an AUV [autonomous underwater vehicle],” states Lárus Kazmi, who heads a team of divers from the national police commissioner.
The plane is located at the bottom of the lake in a cove called Ölfusvatnsvík, at a depth of about 48 meters (160 ft), 800 meters (875 yards) from the shore. Ice on the lake forced rescue workers to postpone the recovery of the plane in February.
The plane, a Cessna C172, crashed into the lake on February 3, killing all four men on board. Their bodies were recovered from the lake a week later.
Ever since the lake became ice-free, preparations for the recovery of the plane have been underway. Tents were put up yesterday with facilities for rescue workers and safety equipment for divers.
It is a complicated operation involving 30 participants, including 12 divers — a cooperation between the South Iceland Police Department, the special unit of the Icelandic national police commissioner, ICE-SAR, the Árnessýsla fire department, and others.
“We’ll send two divers down to the plane, to a depth of 48 meters, and they’ll fasten harnesses to the plane,” Lárus explains. “Then it will be pulled up to a considerably less depth and secured for transport. After that, we’ll bring it closer to the shore, about 1.5 km, where we’ll do more work on it. That’s when the actual investigative work begins. The plane will be photographed from all angles, all its contents, instrument panel, controls, and all other equipment.” Once the plane has been inspected, a crane will pull it up to a platform, and it will be transported to shore.
“The diving will for sure be difficult,” Lárus adds. “Going this deep is always risky, but we have made preparations to react to potential accidents. Our divers are well trained and used to deep diving.”
Flying over the area is prohibited today until the operation is over. An Icelandic Coast Guard helicopter will be on stand-by, in case it is needed.
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