Boeing jet passing through was to become reef

The shell of a Boeing 737 aircraft is to arrive in Courtenay by barge early Saturday en route to its destination on the sea floor off Cape Lazo.

The 20-tonne aircraft is to be sunk about a mile offshore to create an artificial reef, according to Bill Coltart, projects co-ordinator for the Comox Valley Dive Association.

The dive association is organizing the project in co-operation with the Artificial Reef Society of B.C.

The aircraft was to be loaded onto a barge at the Coast Guard Hovercraft Station on Sea Island in Vancouver on Friday morning and towed across the strait in time for the high tide Saturday morning. It will then be towed up the Courtenay Estuary to the Courtenay marina at the foot of 20th Street.

It will be brought ashore and stored in a nearby parking lot until early summer, when it is to be sunk, said Coltart...[ComoxValleyRecord.com]