Scuba Diving Sunken Aircraft Intruder Reef

Over forty A6 Intruder Aircraft lie on the ocean floor just off the coast of St Augustine, Florida. These aircraft were sank intentionally to create artificial reef habitat and a recreational area for fishermen and scuba divers. This Intruder Reef Is likely the only scuba diving location where divers can explore this many sunken military aircraft. The planes were sunk in 1995 and since then have evolved into a diverse ecosystem where many species of fish and marine invertebrates thrive. The metal aircraft bodies are covered in growth, things like coral and sponges, and this growth provides resources for the marine creatures that utilize the reef. It is a great site for scuba divers and offshore fishermen. There are often a variety of colorful fish encountered as well as eels. Fishermen are likely to catch favorites including Grouper and Snapper. The sunken jets reside 90 to 100 feet below and the area filmed can be found at the Reef Coordinates below. Reef Coordinates / Fishing coordinates (St. Augustine Intruder Reef): Reef GPS Coordinates: 29° 54.334' 80° 48.185' Special Thanks: Joe Kistel (Host) Ed Kalakauskis (Diver) Larry Davis (Diver, Cameraman) Jack Leone (Diver, Offshore transportation) Chuck Darner (Offshore transportation) Harold Conger (Offshore transportation) Erik Hildebrandt (Historic images and info resources) Steve Blalock (Info consultant) FWC (additional historic info) Brought to you by: St. Johns County Tourist Development Council Kistel Media LLC The history on the creation of the St. Augustine Intruder Reef is interesting and the full story was beyond the scope of this video. The January 1997 issue of Air & Space Magazine contains a great article by Erik Hildebrandt detailing the story of how and why the Intruder Aircraft reef was created offshore St. Augustine. Today the St. Augustine diving location is a favorite dive spot.