Effort launched to recover plane downed in Lake Powell
 PAGE -- It has been nearly eight years since a touring single-engine airplane was ditched in Lake Powell and submerged in 150 to 180 feet of water. The Cessna 177B is still there in the lake's silty San Juan arm, but perhaps not for long.
A Salt Lake City man with a reputation for locating hard-to-find sunken objects has announced plans to try to bring the plane up.
Jim Cross, of Cross International Search and Recovery, also plans to recover about 40 boats, a couple freezers and a boat dock this year, thanks to a $52,000 commitment by a Salt Lake City environmental firm.
The donation increased the contributions by EnergySolutions, LLC, to $3 million for the EnergySolutions Environmental Foundation. The announcement was made in a program Friday at Wahweap Bay near Page.
The project was welcomed by Page-based Friends of Lake Powell, a non-profit group developed in 1997 to protect the lake, the nation's second-largest reservoir.
"It's nice to have a big corporation like EnergySolutions step up and make such an amazing financial commitment to helping us clean up Lake Powell as well as other areas which might be chosen for grants," said Steve Ward, chairman of the Friends board.
 Most of the boats targeted for removal have been left high and dry by lowering levels of Lake Powell. Boats closer to the existing shore are receiving priority -- Cross wants to get to them before the lake covers them up on its projected 45-foot rise this spring.
Perhaps the most intriguing target for Cross is the Cessna ditched 80 miles uplake in Utah on June 4, 1997. The aircraft had reportedly begun losing power when Scenic Airlines pilot Todd Clausen performed a tricky water landing. Before the craft sank below the surface, Clausen and his three German national passengers got out and were picked up by a private boat.
Ward said the exact location of the plane is unknown, but the rescuing boaters took compass headings off rocks in the area. Divers have been unable to find the submerged aircraft, though Ward says Cross' sophisticated side-scan sonar may pick it up.
"Our hope is that he can go find it, and then go down and rig it," Ward said. "He'll have to bring it up very slowly and carefully because of the National Transportation and Safety Board demands for it to be brought up upright so they can do their investigation. It's a long process."
The NTSB accident report said Clausen ditched the plane after its engine began to sputter, miss and backfire. Trouble-shooting failed to correct the power loss and Clausen chose to execute a ditching due to high terrain surrounding the aircraft, the report said.
The plane was believed to be carrying about 25 gallons of fuel. A Scenic spokesperson said in July 1997 she was unsure if the fuel had escaped into the lake.
Cross has uncovered many military planes, including one that crashed from Hill Air Force Base in Salt Lake City. Cross found it after an unsuccessful search by the U.S. Navy.
Cross' wish list for Lake Powell includes boats ranging from four feet below the lake to a 20-footer that rests 120 feet above the surface.
Friday's program included talks by Ward, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Superintendent Kitty Roberts and Friends of Lake Powell senior board member Paul Ostapuk.
Tim Barney, EnergySolutions senior vice president, presented a check for $3 million to Fraser Bullock, executive director for the EnergySolutions Environmental Foundation.
"We recognize the need for financial assistance to environmental projects and this foundation is a great start for a positive long-term effect on Utah's government," Bullock said in a news release last Monday. "EnergySolutions' donation of $3 million is a strong indication of just how committed this company is to the health, safety and preservation of Utah's environment."
"This donation of $52,000 will help retrieve sunken boats and planes here at Lake Powell that are contaminating the water," Cross said in the release. "We recognize that Lake Powell is a resource not only to Utahns but to people from all over the world and are proud of the efforts our team is making to improve the quality of Lake Powell."
"It's just incredible," Ward said Friday night. "It's a huge, huge investment."
By Todd Glasenapp, ARIZONA DAILY SUN
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