Decades of preservation
The commercial business granted clearance by the Navy to collect the planes could not use chains due to the delicate condition of the planes. Instead, they lifted the jet out of the sea with ropes before hauling it to shore. As other planes were found from the depths, specialists were astounded by the aircraft's exceptional condition of preservation. Leather seats and color palettes are frequently discovered in good condition. Airplanes were recovered with air in the tires and oil in the crankcases. Lake Michigan is to blame for the state in which these planes were discovered. Because the Lake is freshwater, it does not corrode like salt water. Its waters are also extremely cold.
A&T Recoveries
Since the 1980s, A&T Recovery has been actively looking for and rescuing vessels in Lake Michigan's southern basin. Allan Olson and Taras Lyssenko founded the recovery squad, which has been engaged in rescuing the Navy's missing planes from the World War II Aircraft Carrier Qualification Training. The organization uses clever technology, such as a side-scan sonar comparable to an ultrasound, to discover sunken relics in Lake Michigan's lakebed. “[The sonar] employs a sound wave, and it listens for an echo return, and it draws an image of it,” Taras Lyssenko, general manager of A&T Recovery, explained.