The agonizing effort to recover the body of the pilot whose twin-engine plane went down in Lake Hartwell six days ago is finally over. Rescue divers, a commercial underwater salvage company and Coast Guard recovery teams deployed an inflatable flotation system to dislodge the plane's crumpled wreckage from a tangle of petrified trees nearly 120 feet below the surface.
It was then towed into shallower water near the Georgia shore where the Florida man's remains were removed shortly before sundown last night. He's identified as 55-year-old Todd Jeffrey Carrel, the only one on board.
Georgia and South Carolina rescue teams had tried non-stop since Saturday to recover the body, but the plane's doors were jammed by the impact. A crane is standing by to remove the wreckage from the water near the Long Point recreation area. It will be months before investigators can conclude anything about the cause of the crash.