 The
National Park Service Announces Location of Submerged PBY Catalina
Aircraft In Lake Mead
On October 24, 1949, the Navy PBY-5A Catalina
flying boat, converted for civilian use by the Charles Babb Company
of Los Angeles, took off from the Boulder City Airport for a
test flight. The aircraft was attempting a water landing in the
Boulder Basin area of Lake Mead. Unfortunately, the landing gear
was still down. The landing gear hit the water and the plane
flipped and burned.
The Patrol Bomber, built for the U.S. Navy
in the 1930s and 1940s, was used in World War II. The aircraft
that went down at Lake Mead is is two pieces, resting at a depth
of 190 feet below the surface.
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