Alaska State Troopers reported that the body of the pilot who crashed a 1944 Grumman Widgeon into Tikchik Lake while attempting to land has been retrieved.

It took several days, as the divers with Ketchikan Alaska Commercial Divers Inc waited on weather to improve and for winds to die down, before they could successfully retrieve the remains of 71-year-old Albert Newton Ball who sank with his aircraft when it crashed on Sunday, October 7th.

The aircraft was located on Tuesday, October 9th in to murky waters of the lake 40 feet below the surface.

The Widgeon crashed on landing after making several passes over the lake according to the hunter and his guide who were waiting on the aircraft to pick them up. According to the hunter, the plane struck its wing on the water on landing and flipped before it sank to the bottom.