Missing F-89 Found?

Update: November 1, 2006

A number of individuals have been trying to corroborate information supplied by Adam Jimenez, who is the contact for Great Lakes Dive Company (if such a group actually exists). Most of the investigators believe that the information which has surfaced in these investigations suggests that this find is possibly or probably a hoax. Adam Jimenez is currently unavailable for comment or to answer questions. He is the only person known who can substantiate his claims.

See F-89 Discovery a Possible Hoax

Original Information Follows

Note: Link to Great Lakes Dive Company is currently dead

A group of Michigan based divers and engineers, the Great Lakes Dive Company, has announced that they have found the wreck of an F-89 on the bottom of Lake Superior.

Using advanced side scan sonar equipment, they surveyed an area around the location where the F-89 was last observed on radar, back on the night it disappeared, Nov. 23, 1953.

Expecting to find perhaps the engines and a few scraps of metal debris, they were quite stunned when the first low resolution scans of the discovery showed an almost complete F-89, resting upright on the lakebed with the nose and one wingtip buried in the sediment. The upswept tail of the F-89 and a wing pod fuel tank were clearly visible. The port side wing is completely gone and looks like a straight-edged cut where it would join the fuselage. The starboard horizontal stabilizer on the tail is also mysteriously missing.

Despite an extended search of the nearby area, no evidence of the missing wing or tail part was found. Instead, another mysterious object was found which the divers believed to be the object with which the F-89 collided.

The object is reportedly metallic and contains a hole which they believe was caused by a collision of the missing port wing of the F-89.

GLDC states they believe the canopy and cockpit are in place also, which may imply the crew did not escape and their remains may be in the cockpit.

GLDC had intended to go back to the wreck this year to perform ROV scans of the craft, however they say they were contacted by the Canadian government who asked them to provide the GPS coordinates of the site before they would allow them to finish their site surveys. They also requested that a coast guard vessel or Canadian government official accompany GLDC on any further surveys of the site.

GLDC has stated they want to do a full length documentary of their search and discovery although their plans may now be on hold as they state they have abandoned efforts to do more surveys on the wreck discovery.

Implications of Discovery

It is far from clear what this reported discovery implies about the fate of the missing F-89. The reported find of another mysterious object may provide a clue.

Until more information becomes available, all we have is a few images which a reported to be images from their side scan sonar. Although the Great Lakes Dive Co. have so far been providing useful information, there will be lingering doubts on the veracity of this find until it can be further substantiated.

GLDC believes this discovery may imply the F-89 was brought down by a collision with some sort of unknown craft which may be the mysterious object on the lakebed. However they are unable to reconcile this theory with good structural condition of the F-89.

I believe the discovery might imply something quite different. It may be possible that the craft was placed on the lakebed by the crew of the craft which perhaps abducted the craft and crew.

I think this remains a possibility due to the following:

F-89 Not Tracked Below 7000 Feet

The F-89 disappeared from radar at an altitude of 7000 feet. If it collided with a craft at this altitude then the F-89 should still have reflected radar signals as it fell to the lakebed.

If it collided with the object at a lower altitude, we still need to explain why the altitude of the unknown and F-89 was not tracked below 7000 feet.

Missing Wing and Tail

The port wing and starboard tail horizontal stabilizer are missing from the plane and despite many scans, no evidence of them has so far emerged. All parts of the aircraft should have settled into the same general vicinity of the lakebed - although it is possible that the search has not been thorough enough or the radius of the search area still needs to be increased.

Is it possible that the missing tail piece was part of the parts found in 1968? We may never be able to find out as the identification of the parts were apparently withheld from the public and the Canadian and US governments claim they have no records of the find.

Lt. Moncla Heard on Radio

The pilot of the first F-89 into the air in search of the missing F-89, Lt. Mingenbach, took off from Kinross AFB just a few minutes after the F-89 went missing from radar. About 40 minutes after the F-89 disappeared from radar, Lt. Mingenbach believes he heard a radio transmission from the pilot of the missing plane, Lt. Moncla. While it is possible that this was something else, it certainly is doubtful that Lt. Moncla would be transmitting from the bottom of the lake, 40 minutes after his plane collided with an unknown object.

Where To Now?

The family of the missing USAF crew clearly have a right to know whether the discovered wreck contains the remains of the crew.

As someone who has investigated this mystery for over five years, I believe the Canadian and US public has the right to know what can be discovered from this find. This means that a detailed video scan should be made of the wreck as soon as can be arranged. The evidence which is obtained should be made available to interested members of the general public.

The US government has had a particularly poor record in dealing with this incident in an honest manner. The Canadian government also has some explaining to do with respect to its handling of the discovery of military jet aircraft parts in October, 1968 in the bush near the shore of Alona Bay (north of Sault Ste. Marie).