VideoRay
Swimming Robot Records Video of Crash Site of DC-3 Plane Shot
Down in 1952
Internal and External Assessment
Handled by 8-Pound MicroROV Before Wreck is Raised By Swedish Navy
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Exton, PA, March 19, 2004 -- A VideoRay ROV (remotely operated
vehicle) was the tool of choice when the Swedish Navy equipped
the Belos vessel to investigate the crash scene of a Douglas
DC-3 airplane that disappeared without a trace in June 1952 over
the
Baltic Sea. Deployed directly from the Belos, despite
sea conditions too rough to deploy other ROVs, the VideoRay successfully
video
recorded the inside and outside of the wreck at depths over 400
feet. Replacing divers in tight, fragile, and dangerous conditions,
the VideoRay camera eye gathered details and clues that will help
the Swedish Navy piece together the final moments of the aircraft
downed by Russian gunfire.
Bob Christ of VideoRay and Daniel Karlsson of Wildland
Fire International AB of Sweden returned to the wreck in mid-October
2003, following
discovery of the DC-3 by a commercial diving company the previous
summer. Christ, an ATP rated aircraft
pilot, was the operator of the VideoRay and ATP rated
aircraft pilot. Daniel Karlsson heads up
the fire and rescue division of Wildland Fire and oversaw six dives
by the VideoRay aboard the Belos in rough waters east
of Gotska Sandon Island, Sweden.
The 8-pound VideoRay II submersible was equipped with an Imagenex
851 scanning sonar used to initially locate the wreck. The tiny,
yellow VideoRay submersible was launched by hand through the ship’s
moon pool. Lighting and recording the scene, the propeller-operated
VideoRay gathered crisp video of the fuselage, cabin, panels, hatches,
and wings. The sub, about the size of a boot box, slipped through
an opening of the cargo door above the mud line. A tether attached
the sub to a portable control box in the boat and the ROV operator,
who watches the video live on a screen. Among other details, the
VideoRay captured images of the bullet holes throughout the fuselage
and sheared hinges on the exit door
“This mission couldn’t have been completed any other way,” said
Karlsson, who has used the VideoRay in different other missions. “Divers
can’t sustain at these depths, and the motion of their fins would disturb
the fragile scene. The VideoRay is the only ROV that could document places essential
to the investigation.” VideoRay microROVs have been used to assess other
historic wrecks, including the USS Arizona battleship in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
and a B-29 bomber found in Lake Mead, Nevada.
Bob Christ added, “While I’ve worked over 10 different wreck sites
throughout the world with ROVs, these are the most extreme conditions I’ve
experienced. The VideoRay is the only vehicle that could accomplish the mission.” Since
this expedition, Christ’s services have become available for hire on
his new company – see http://www.seatrepid.com .
See and download print quality images and video to accompany this
story at http://www.videoray.com/Press_Room/belos_photos.htm
For print quality product photos online, visit http://www.videoray.com/Press_Room/photo_gallery.htm
Contact VideoRay LLC • 400 Eagleview Blvd. • Exton,
PA 19341 USA • Phone: (610) 458-3000 • FAX: (610) 458-3010 • www.videoray.com
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