Plane Missing Since 1984 Found in Texas Lake

Canoeists on Lake Meredith found a plane that had crashed in 1984. Investigators have identified the two men who were aboard the plane.

A two-seat Beech 77 plane with two men aboard had crashed on January 27, 1984 and it was only on Friday that the plane and crew were finally found by two canoeists on Lake Meredith in Texas.

Today investigators released the names of the crew. 27-year-old Steven Lampe, who was flying the plane, and passenger Larry Lucas took off from Tradwinds Airport on a cold winter day in 1984. After two hours the plane went missing and it was presumed that it had crashed in Lake Meredith in Texas.

But even after six days straight of searching for the plane and the two men, investigators could find no trace of the wreckage or the bodies. At the time the lake was almost 12 metres deeper than it is now and it was covered in ice. After several months the search for the men was called off.

Lake Meredith National Park Service officials have confirmed Saturday that the wreckage found was the plane that had crashed 24 years ago.

- Over the years the story has grown people have speculated there's no plane, there is a plane. It's like the Loch-Ness monster. No one knew if it was there or not – spokeswoman for the Lake Meredith National Park Service, Rozanna Pfeiffer, said.