LAKEPORT, Calif. – A vintage seaplane that crashed into Clear Lake over the weekend was recovered from the lake on Monday.
The Grumman Widgeon plane was removed from the area where it crashed offshore of the city of Lakeport by a team that included a crane from Clearlake Marine Construction and a diver from Bullfrog Underwater Services, according to Lakeport City Councilman Martin Scheel, who was at the scene for the removal.
The plane crashed Saturday morning about 500 yards offshore of Via Del Lago while the pilot was attempting a water landing during the annual Clear Lake Seaplane Splash In, as Lake County News has reported.
Witnesses said the landing gear had been left down, and when the pilot brought the plane in to land, the landing gear caught the water, causing the plane to pitch forward onto its nose and sink in water estimated to be about 8 feet deep.
The pilot suffered minor injuries, including cuts to the face, while his passenger had a broken leg as well as injuries to his other leg, according to reports from the scene.
Scheel said that the plane, once removed from the water, was parked temporarily at the former Natural High School grounds where the Splash In had been based.
Most of the plane's body appeared to be OK, with the major damage being to the nose, which was smashed and torn open, as well as some damage to the top of the tail.
Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said the National Transportation Safety Board is handling the investigation. As of Monday afternoon, Brooks had not been able to speak to the agency about the investigation's status.
The incident on Monday also had not been recorded in the National Transportation Safety Board's online accident docket.
Federal Aviation Administration records showed that the plane was manufactured in 1945 and is owned by Steven Hamilton of Washoe, Nev.
Authorities so far have not confirmed that Hamilton was piloting the plane at the time of the crash.
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Seaplane removed from Clear Lake
- Elizabeth Larson
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