B-29 Bomber

Location: Overton Arm

Depth (Based on Lake Elevation of 1110 msl): 140ft to bottom of the mooring lines to a possible 150ft depth to the bottom of the plane at the nose.

Points of interest: B-29 Bomber aircraft crashed in Lake Mead on July 21, 1948. (See article on next page) The National Park Service issues Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) permits annually to dive the site and Lake Mead Technical Divers has acted as guides for the permit holders for the past 2 years. The fall 2009-summer 2010 permit is currently being reviewed by the National Park Service, and we expect to find out who will be awarded the permit in September or October 2009. Lots of cool stuff to see as this plane is beautifully preserved.

Directions: Dive site is located in the center of the Overton Arm in the very northern section of Lake Mead. A mooring line has been set by the NPS and is available for permitted use only by the CUA holders. You cannot dive this site unless without signing up with the permitted operator. Each dive must be guided (two divers maximum per dive guide) and is strictly a “No Touch” dive.

Dive: From the mooring line you will drop straight down to two large mooring blocks on the bottom. From this point there is another line that runs north approximately 90 feet to a smaller mooring block. From this block another line runs about 20 feet over to a copper stake directly behind the tail section. The plane is now visible. The nose of the plane faces in a slight northwesterly direction and the top of the tail is in about 100ft of water.