Airplanes

In front of Renaissance island, one of Aruba’s barrier islands, lay two planes at the bottom of the sea. Both sank on purpose as artificial reefs, one a little bit more recent then the other. The oldest of the two, a Convair 240, has been scattered by storms. The tip of its left wing is the shallowest point, laying at 14 mtr/46 ft, followed by the props, fuselage, tail and eventually cockpit at 22 mtr/72 ft.

The other aircraft is still intact. It’s an old Air Aruba YS-11 that had been sitting abandoned next to the runway at Queen Beatrix International Airport for years. It sits upright, facing the opposite direction from the other plane, the cockpit being the shallowest point at 16 mtr/52 feet and the tail the deepest at 27 mtr/90 ft. The passengers seats and four doors were removed before sinking, making it an easy wreck to penetrate. There are often large Barracudas under the wings and Banded Coral Shrimp in the cockpit.

Marine life: Barracuda’s, Octopus, Moray Eels, Pufferfish, Flounders, Angelfish, Silversides, Stingrays and the occasional Spotted Eagle Ray.