7/16/11 – Recently Sawbill crew members Luke Opel and Tyler Campbell ventured out for a day trip up to Zenith Lake. While there they decided to see if they could find the famed “crashed” airplane. Without too much trouble they found it and snapped a few choice pictures.

Resident photo journalist, Luke Opel, took this picture while Tyler attempted to save the plane from crashing.
The story goes that on Christmas Eve 1946, just after World War II, a pilot from Omaha, Nebraska, landed on Zenith Lake to scout out future sites for beaver trapping. When he walked over toward a dam he heard a crashing noise behind him. When he turned around he found his Piper J-3 Cub submerged in icy water. With little options he decided to set off toward civilization. Sawbill Lodge was closed at the time, so he had to make the long 30 plus mile trek back to Tofte wearing nothing on his feet but street shoes. It took him nearly 24 hours, but he finally made it back.
In the days following a recovery team was formed. They headed back up to Zenith with the proper equipment to save the plane from the depths. Their first order of business was extracting the plane from the ice. They sawed around the plane and proceeded to jack it out of the lake. Once out, the thawing process commenced. In order to make this happen they pitched canvas tents around the plane and lit fires within. After the plane was mostly thawed it caught fire. Everyone involved quickly rushed to the scene and frantically put out the fire with snow. The plane was not salvageable so it was left behind on shore. Now when lucky paddlers travel along the north shore of Zenith they can share in this unique story. -Jessica