Watch as stranded WWII seaplane is winched out of Loch Ness

A 10 tonne Second World War seaplane stranded on Loch Ness has been rescued by the RNLI.

The Miss Pick Up – one of only 20 seaplanes still airworthy in the world, and the only one still in use in the UK – suffered engine trouble while trying to take off from the loch last weekend.

With a wingspan of 32 metres, it was too wide to recover to a harbour or pontoon, so a mooring buoy was decided as the best option.

It was towed to Urquhart Bay for safety before being lifted out of the water on Thursday (October 212) for repairs to begin.

A gofundme page was set up to help have her removed from the waters for further investigation – and in its first day raised more than £13,000.

Ian Brookes, a director of Catalina Aircraft, said the lifting operation went according to plan.

“Clearly we were all worried about it as no one has lifted a Catalina on a crane for 20-30 years,” he said.

“There are lift points built into the Catalina, on the side of the wing, but we were worried about the structure of the aircraft. It went well, though, so it’s good news.

Miss Pick Up suffered engine trouble while trying to take off from the loch at the weekend. Photo: Matt Dearden.

“It was a risk on the water as the longer you leave it and the worse the weather gets the more damage you are going to get, so we were really pleased to get it out.”

Catalina Aircraft will now send up a replacement engine and repairs will be carried out on dry land.

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