Lake Mead Update: Plane Found Months After Emergency Water Landing

A plane that was forced to make an emergency landing months ago has been located in Nevada's Lake Mead.

The initial incident occurred on October 1 at about 8:30 p.m. local time, when pilot Chad Rodgers conducted an emergency landing in his single-engine Cessna 182C, which had suffered an engine failure, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Rodgers and his lone passenger, Charles Wood, were able to exit the craft uninjured after it was put down in Lake Mead, and they swam to shore. The two had been bound for North Las Vegas Airport from Arizona's Grand Canyon Airport, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report.

"Both occupants of the aircraft were spotted on the shore by the air rescue personnel," a statement from Lake Mead Public Affairs said.

Over the weekend, the Review-Journal reported that, months after it had been abandoned, the small craft had been found at the bottom of Lake Mead. The discovery was made by Earth Resource Group, an environmental consulting firm, using "VideoRay Pro 4 remotely operated vehicle and sonar technology."

According to the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report, the small craft "nosed over" as it sank "and came to rest inverted" on the lakebed.

It is unknown what, if anything, can be done with the sunken plane. Newsweek has been unable to reach Rodgers and Woods for comment.

While the two men on board the plane were able to emerge from the incident unscathed, they lost a significant number of possession that were in the plane when it went down and are "unrecoverable." Keri Rodgers, the pilot's wife, set up a GoFundMe page to help recoup their losses, "as insurance has informed them none of their damaged items are covered."

"Officials did not expect to find any survivors," Keri Rodgers wrote on the page. "Three hours after the plane went down, both survivors were miraculously found unscathed. They both managed to escape through the window as the plane was sinking to the bottom of the lake. The plane is now in 100 feet of water and all of their gear and personal belongings are unrecoverable."

As of Tuesday, the page has raised nearly $1,700 of its $12,000 goal.

Newsweek reached out to Lake Mead Public Affairs for comment.

Located just to the east of Las Vegas, Lake Mead has made headlines over the last several years due to its dwindling water levels in the face of drought. As more of the lakebed has been exposed, discoveries much more grim than a sunken plane, including multiple dead bodies, have been found.