HONOLULU (KHON2) -- A local spearfisherman found wreckage of what is believed to be a World War II-era plane off of Oahu's North Shore.
The aircraft has not been charted by officials and experts said there are likely hundreds of similar sites around the Islands.
Jeff George was spearfishing off of Kaena Point with his son in April, 2023 when he noticed aircraft wreckage about a quarter mile off shore.
"I was just freaking out, because," George said, "every kid dreams of seeing a wreck in the water, you know, a shipwreck, you know, whatever. You always want to see that kind of stuff!"
It was not until he got to shore and started researching that he realized the magnitude of his discovery.
"Nobody had it registered anywhere and the more I got into it, the more I realized that, you know, maybe this thing is just never been discovered!"
Jeff George, discovered apparent WWII wreckage off Oahu's North Shore
Officials believe the aircraft is a P-38 lightning, an Army Air Corps plane that flew over 130,000 missions in WWII and commonly trained in and around the Hawaiian Islands.
There are confirmed wreckage sites near the Islands, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has no records of any off of Oahu's North Shore.
"And I've asked Navy History and Heritage Command as well, and they do not have any P-38 listed for the North Shore," NOAA Marine Sanctuaries Office maritime heritage coordinator Dr. Hans Van Tilburg said. "That is a large portion. And there's a reason it's still there and probably because it is in that little crevice that has kept it from moving around further over the years."
There have been about 50 of these military aircraft wreckage sites that have been confirmed by officials around the main Hawaiian Islands, but there are over 1,000 more that are known to have gone down but were never found. Dr. Van Tilburg said the main way that they are catalogued by officials in the 21st century is from sightings by the public.
"We know they're out there, we just don't have a record of them," Dr. Van Tilburg said.
George found the site in 2023 and has been trying to report it since then and only found success when he reached out to KHON2.
"Because it was very difficult to actually get the report in, really, once you talk to the right people, I think that that really does help," George said. "Call your local news guy, you know?"
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Dr. Van Tilburg said the next steps for the aircraft include conducting a survey to find any other parts that are scattered along the wreckage path, as well as an official analysis to determine the circumstances of its crash.