Underwater video reveals wreckage likely from 1971 corporate plane crash into Lake Champlain
Experts believe that they have found the wreckage of a corporate private jet 200 feet below the surface of Lake Champlain in Vermont, that fatefully crashed more than 50 years ago. (Garry Kozak via The Associated Press)
Experts released video footage revealing an underwater look at the suspected wreckage of a corporate private jet 200 feet below the surface in Lake Champlain in Vermont, that fatefully crashed more than 50 years ago.
The footage — recorded by underwater searcher Garry Kozak and provided to The Associated Press — shows the hazy glow of the remnants of the private aircraft, with the registration "N400CP."
The 10-seat Jet Commander aircraft disappeared shortly after taking off from Burlington en route to Providence, Rhode Island, on Jan. 27, 1971.
Pilots Donald Myers and George Nikita, along with passengers Richard Windsor, Robert Williams and Frank Wilder, were on board the flight.
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Footage captured by Garry Kozak showed the suspected aircraft — 53 years after it crashed in Lake Champlain. (Garry Kozak via The Associated Press)
Hazy footage showed the suspected private jet that fatefully crashed on Jan. 27, 1971. (Garry Kozak via The Associated Press)
The lake's cloudy waters revealed what appeared to be an aircraft engine along with the plane's signature custom paintwork — bright red and cream stripes, despite being over five decades old.
Kozak and a team of researchers uncovered the long-lost aircraft on May 19, after 17 separate attempts that spanned decades by other research groups.
Kozak and Sonar Search and Recovery owner Hans Hug hit their stroke of luck when they used an EdgeTech 4125-P side-scan sonar system with high-resolution capability to scan the 490-square-mile natural lake.
"With all those pieces of evidence, we’re 99% absolutely sure," Kozak shared following the discovery.
The side of plane wreckage in Lake Champlain is identified by undersea search expert Garry Kozak as N400CP, a plane that crashed in January 1971 after takeoff. (Garry Kozak via AP)
Following the historical find, families were left with mixed feelings.
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"To have this found now ... it’s peaceful feeling, at the same time it’s a very sad feeling," Barbara Nikitas, niece of pilot George Nikita, said. "We know what happened. We’ve seen a couple of photos. We’re struggling, I think, with that now."
Tree growing from rock, Lake Champlain, Vt. The missing private aircraft was found 200 feet deep in Lake Champlain in May 2024 — 53 years after it first went missing. (Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Frank Wilder’s father, also Frank Wilder, was a passenger on the plane.
"Spending 53 years not knowing if the plane was in the lake or maybe on a mountainside around there somewhere was distressing," said Wilder, who lives outside of Philadelphia. "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."
Garry Kozak and a team of researchers were the first to make significant headway in the investigation into the missing plane from 1971. (Garry Kozak via The Associated Press)
Debris from the plane was initially found in the spring of 1971 at Shelburne Point, Vermont, after the ice melted from the lake, Kozak said.
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Kozak and a team of researchers were the first to make significant headway in the investigation into the missing plane from 1971.
A representative for the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed it was investigating information it received.
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