The remains of a 71-year-old Dillingham man whose plane crashed and sank on Tikchik Lake last week were recovered by divers Wednesday, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch.
Dillingham troopers were told Wednesday night that the body of pilot and sole occupant Albert Newton "Newt" Ball had been retrieved from the 1944 G-44 Grumman Widgeon, which sank in about 40 feet of water after it flipped while landing on the lake Oct. 7.
A hunting guide and a hunter saw the crash, with nobody escaping the plane, and reported it to AST. Troopers’ arrival at the lake was slowed by poor weather in the area, and search efforts for the Widgeon -- which wasn’t located until the evening of Oct. 9 -- were hindered by murky water conditions.
Divers with Ketchikan Alaska Commercial Divers Inc. had traveled to the scene, but were forced to wait several days for high winds on the lake to subside. They were scheduled to be flown out of the area along with Ball’s body, which will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office, Thursday morning.
Contact Chris Klint
