B-17 to be rescued from the bottom of a Canadian lake

[gofaster]

From my weekly AvWeb news mailer:

B-17 Coming Back From The Deep
 A wealthy aircraft collector (is there any other kind?) is going to great lengths, and depths, to add to his inventory. Don Brooks, of Douglas, Ga., is mounting an ambitious operation to recover the wreck of a B-17 on the bottom of a lake in Labrador in northern Canada. "There's very few B-17s remaining," Brooks told the Tacoma News Tribune. "I think it's a worthwhile project to preserve the heritage of our country's aviation history." The plane in question was on a Christmas Eve delivery mission in 1947 when the crew made a forced landing on frozen Dyke Lake. None of the seven aboard were hurt and they were rescued two days later. The plane was abandoned (we just report it) and fell through the melting ice the following spring. To recover the wreck, the team hired by Brooks will attach balloons to the airframe and lift it to the surface. As complicated as it sounds, it might be the easiest part of Brooks' quest. The salvage has been tied up in Canadian courts for years, but a recent decision gave the project the green light. Although Brooks can never claim clear title to the B-17, the courts decided that if anyone else tries to claim ownership they'll have to pay Brooks for the cost of recovering it. Brooks said he doesn't know how much the month-long effort will cost.

Pretty cool stuff.  Anybody know why the project would "be tied up in Canadian courts for years"?  Who else would claim title to it?

[Nilsen]

Good question.

Was it a Canadian or USAF bomber?

[Bodhi]

I know an awful lot about this project as I worked on a crew that tried to recover it earlier.  We stopped because of the legal costs.  Anyways, the Provincial Government is fighting for title as they claim it to be part of their "aviation heritage".  They pulled the same thing on us when we pulled a B-24 out of the woods, then confiscated it.  The B-24 is still there, and we were never compensated.

[Nash]

Is it the Navy that leaves wreckage all over the place and then promptly reclaims it when it gets recovered?

It's a total joke. Like they would rather this stuff just rot away into nothingness in the name of protecting sensetive technological intelligence. Who knows, one day they may find themselves pitted against the Botswanian Air Force and its fleet of FM2s. Wouldn't that be ugly.

[Rafe35]

Originally posted by Bodhi
I know an awful lot about this project as I worked on a crew that tried to recover it earlier.  We stopped because of the legal costs.  Anyways, the Provincial Government is fighting for title as they claim it to be part of their "aviation heritage".  They pulled the same thing on us when we pulled a B-24 out of the woods, then confiscated it.  The B-24 is still there, and we were never compensated.

That ain't right.......

[LePaul]

I cant beleive they tie you up like that, legally.

I could understand if it was one of their airplanes...and even more so if people died there and it was considered a "gravesite".  But to simply block the removal and restoration of a historic aircraft just doesnt make a whole lot of sense

Certainly there are better things to busy a court with?

[Rafe35]

Originally posted by Nash
Is it the Navy that leaves wreckage all over the place and then promptly reclaims it when it gets recovered?

It's a total joke. Like they would rather this stuff just rot away into nothingness in the name of protecting sensetive technological intelligence. Who knows, one day they may find themselves pitted against the Botswanian Air Force and its fleet of FM2s. Wouldn't that be ugly.

I wonder what happened to Brewster F3A-1A/D Corsair that Navy have sue a man and wanted it back?  The news was not long ago, but it was true that the Navy want it back......weird.