Did F-89 Crash Into Lake Superior?

The report that was prepared by the Official Accident Investigation Board concluded on the fate of the F-89:

"The aircraft probably crashed in the Canadian waters of Lake Superior just prior to or at the time of interception."

It was probably not possible for the investigation board to reach a more definitive conclusion due to the simple fact that no trace of the F-89 or its crew were found during the search of the lake and shoreline.

Given that the F-89's IFF signal was lost at the time the radar return from the F-89 was observed to merge with the return from the return from the unidentified aircraft, it does seem the most likely reason for the loss of both signals and the loss of radio communications would be that the F-89 crashed into the lake at this moment.

If the F-89 had crashed into the lake surface, it would probably have broken up with little intact wreckage. Only small pieces of floatable debris would remain on the surface along with fuel, oil and hydraulic fluid slicks. The fuel would soon evaporate and perhaps the oil slick would break up due to the action of waves and surface currents. Visibility was impaired by poor weather during the first day of the search. Under such search conditions, it is possible that it was not possible to locate the remnants from the crash.

Theoretically, it might still be possible to locate metal fragments from the F-89 at the bottom of Lake Superior by using a deep water submersible equipped with side scan sonar imaging to search the lake bed beneath the hypothetical crash site. Until such a search is made, it cannot be definitively concluded that the F-89 did crash at this site.

Without positive confirmation of the location of the F-89 wreckage, there will always be questions about what the real fate was of the jet and crew.