Pilots battle swamps to recover Amelia Earhart-era Lockheed Electra lost for 40 years in Canada

A group of pilots has battled swamps, floods, and decades of decay to recover an Amelia Earhart-era Lockheed Electra lost for 40 years in northern Canada.

In the frozen wilderness near Yellowknife, Joe and Mikey McBryan from Buffalo Airways went searching for one of the rarest aircraft ever built.

Buried in the muskeg since the 1970s, the Lockheed Model 10A was the same kind of plane Earhart flew on her final journey.

What they found was more than a wreck, it was a piece of aviation history waiting to fly once more.

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A Lockheed Electra left to the swamps

The Lockheed Electra was the first airplane Joe McBryan ever flew, hauling fish across Great Slave Lake in the 1960s.

Only 149 of these twin-engine legends were made, and there are only three left in the world that are still airworthy.

This one had belonged to Joe’s mentor, bush pilot Merlin Carter, and that’s why attempting to rescue it was so important to him.

Merlin Carter crashed it decades ago when soft ground flipped the aircraft and set fire to its fuel load.

The wreck disappeared beneath a swamp lake bed and was never recovered.

When the McBryans finally spotted the glint of its silver fuselage, the discovery was exciting.

Its serial number confirmed it was the fifth Electra ever built, making it the oldest known surviving Model 10A in existence.

The recovery process was intensive

Finding the plane was only half the battle, as the recovery process would prove difficult.

Flood waters had turned the site into a swamp, forcing the crew to abandon their ATVs and call in a helicopter for help.

The goal was to retrieve the Electra’s distinctive twin-fin tail, a Lockheed trademark that helped define aircraft design for decades.

After several tense moments, the helicopter freed the mud-covered tail and lifted it into the air before dropping it safely only a trailer.

For Joe, the recovery was deeply personal because it honoured his mentor and the early pioneers who built his beloved piece of aviation from scratch.

“This was my life back then,” he said.

“You never think 40 years later you’ll be bringing part of it home.”

Now, the rescued Electra tail stands as a tribute to his mentor, Merlin Carter and it is a timeless symbol of flight, resilience, and memory.

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