A wealthy aircraft collector (is there any other kind?) is going to great lengths, and depths, to add to his inventory. Don Brooks, of Douglas, Ga., is mounting an ambitious operation to recover the wreck of a B-17 on the bottom of a lake in Labrador in northern Canada. “There’s very few B-17s remaining,” Brooks told the Tacoma News Tribune. “I think it’s a worthwhile project to preserve the heritage of our country’s aviation history.” The plane in question was on a Christmas Eve delivery mission in 1947 when the crew made a forced landing on frozen Dyke Lake. None of the seven aboard were hurt and they were rescued two days later. The plane was abandoned (we just report it) and fell through the melting ice the following spring. To recover the wreck, the team hired by Brooks will attach balloons to the airframe and lift it to the surface. As complicated as it sounds, it might be the easiest part of Brooks’ quest. The salvage has been tied up in Canadian courts for years, but a recent decision gave the project the green light. Although Brooks can never claim clear title to the B-17, the courts decided that if anyone else tries to claim ownership they’ll have to pay Brooks for the cost of recovering it. Brooks said he doesn’t know how much the month-long effort will cost.
B-17 Coming Back From The Deep
Key Takeaways:
- Wealthy collector Don Brooks is undertaking an ambitious and costly operation to recover a rare B-17 bomber from the bottom of Dyke Lake in Labrador, Canada, to preserve aviation history.
- The B-17 crash-landed on the frozen lake in 1947, its crew safely rescued, before the abandoned aircraft sank through melting ice the following spring.
- After years of legal challenges, the recovery project, involving lifting the wreck with balloons, recently received court approval, with a ruling that anyone else claiming ownership must reimburse Brooks for his extensive recovery expenses.
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