Plane in lake for sale

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33001, 22 August 1972, Page 1

Plane in lake for sale

A Cessna 150 D fixed-wing aircraft lying upright on the murky floor of Lake Duncan in a remote part of Fiordland is being offered for sale by tender on an “as is, where is” basis.

The Cessna, which was stolen from Taieri airport two years and a half ago, was discovered in the lake in July. It was owned by the Otago Aero Club and was valued at $B5OO.

After its discovery its position in the lake was marked. Early this month three L jnedin men talked in Dunedin Prison with the youth who stole it, and they located the Cessna on the first dive. salvage had to be delayed because of the intense cold experienced by the divers. The Cessna appears to be structurally sound. According to the N.Z. Insurance Company. Ltd. inquiries from interested parties will be welcomed and all known data and information

on salvage conditions will be supplied on request.

Permission to enter the area will only be granted to the successful tenderer, or his agent, by the Fiordland National Park Authority. The three men who found tne craft would have no special rights over anyone else who wished to apply for salvage rights, Mr V. S. Johnson, a New Zealand Insurance Company representative in Dunedin indicated last evening. “They will be on an equal basis with everyone else if they put in a tender,” he said. The three men had been paid for finding the plane.