Dive teams are so far unable to recover the body of the pilot whose twin-engine plane crashed into Lake Hartwell Saturday. Hart County, Georgia, Sheriff Mike Cleveland says, the Beechcraft Baron was near the flight pattern of Anderson Regional Airport, shortly after noon Saturday when according to several witnesses it started circling.
The plan then rolled onto one wing and plunged into the water a short distance from the Long Point Recreation area. The plane, a model that went out of production in the early eighties, was registered in Florida. The pilot was alone on board.
Divers have made repeated efforts to retrieve the victim since scanners detected the wreckage in about 115 feet of water. It's upside down and caught in the branches of trees. They were submerged along with everything else when the river valley was flooded to create the reservoir.
Rescuers also say the doors of the plane were jammed by the impact with the surface. The recovery effort continues today and NTSB and FAA are investigating the accident.