A SEAPLANE that was stranded in Loch Ness after an engine failure has now made a full comeback as it flies again.
PBY Catalina seaplane, ‘Miss Pick Up’ had severe engine failure earlier this year after filming on the loch.
The plane, which doubles as a boat, was removed from the loch and funds were raised to fix its engine.
A total £31,390 was raised by just under a thousand well-wishers donating to the planes gofundme page.
Former RAF Harrier pilot Paul Warren Wilson, the leader of Plane Sailing’s Catalina operation and The Catalina Society, said: “She flies! We can’t thank the people who donated enough. It is thanks to them this venerable old veteran is once again in its natural element and we are incredibly grateful to them all.
“After being towed to safety by the Loch Ness RNLI, the Catalina was carefully lifted onto a private quay where an engine change was carried out by her engineering crew.
“This is a complex enough operation in the warmth of her Duxford hangar where suitable equipment is available. So, doing it in the open during a Scottish winter took a lot of grit and ingenuity.
“It’s wonderful to see her up and running. I admit I was holding my breath during take-off but everything went smoothly.”
The plane is maintained by the not-for-profit Plane Sailing, a Cambridge-based team of dedicated pilots and volunteers whose sole mission to keep the much-loved aircraft flying.
