Army air Force Beechcraft 1158
crashed in Shell lake, Southcentral Alaska
Aircraft Particulars
Type: Twin-engine float plane
Aircraft Number: 41-21158
Tonnage:
Power:
Builder: Beechcraft
Launched:
Owner: AT-7A, 10th Rescue Squadron
Bound from Lake Hood to Shell Lake
Circumstances of Loss
casualty Details
Type: Crashed on approach
Date: 28 June 1946
Severity: Aircraft sank in lake
Crew Aboard: 2
Casualties: Minor injuries
Recovery: Salvage Not Attempted
Captain: Lloyd A. Freeman
Wreck Location: Known
Aftermath
Recovery of aircraft was not attempted. Wreck is believed to have been located by divers in the 1990s. In June 2009 my friends Kevin McGregor and Marc Millican flew with me to Shell Lake. We imaged the wreck on side-scan sonar and made several exploratory dives.
The airplane rests upside-down on the lake bed approximately 50 feet deep. The airframe is mostly intact. I shot 30 minutes of high-definition video footage documenting the wreck, and provided a copy of the footage to the Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources, Office of History and Archaeology.