So the Lockheed TriStar is finally down and in place as the latest dive site in Aqaba in Jordan, and it is certainly an eye-catcher!
Located just a short distance from the shoreline, it sits on a slope, with the cockpit in depths for all divers, and the back end dropping down to 28m.
It is currently shockingly white, and can be easily seen from the surface, but give it a few weeks and a coating of marine growth will tone it down somewhat.
We dived it just days after it went down, and so there were still ropes and lines attached which will be removed over the coming days, but this is going to be a stunning dive site.
It dwarfs the existing C-130 Hercules, and because the decision was made to leave much in place, there is lots more to see. Inside is a little eerie, with the seats in place, and you can see all of the instruments inside the cockpit.
You can drop down into the cargo hold – which had already been taken over as a new home by a little cuttlefish – and also into the vent of the main central engine.
This is a vast aircraft, and it will surely make a cracking dive site as nature starts to embrace its new location on the seabed.
Good article and photos. I’m moving over this way in a few months so this is on my ‘tick list’!! Thanks for the coverage.
They left the video projectors there :-(
I actually flew on one of these from Johannesburg to Lisbon in 1993