Almost 60 years after it crashed, the Saskatchewan RCMP's underwater recovery team is, at long last, getting a closer look at a small plane that went missing in Peter Pond Lake in 1959.

Divers on Wednesday plunged into the icy water to take video of the plane — a Cessna 180 — that crashed into the lake on Aug. 20, 1959, on the way to La Loche, Sask.

The search for the plane was called off about seven months later, and it was only recently discovered in Peter Pond Lake, about 450 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

"Finding this plane after 60 years is remarkable, and maybe to give the family some type of closure, some type of answers to what happened to their loved ones 60 years ago, is probably the ultimate goal," said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Rob King.

The RCMP recovery team initially attempted a dive in August 2018, but was hampered by low visibility, strong winds and high waves.

The conditions kept the team from making the dive and the RCMP decided it would be safer to wait until winter, when the ice could be used as a platform and visibility would be better.

The recovery team travelled to Peter Pond Lake on Sunday to set up for another recovery dive.

On Monday, the team loaded their diving equipment onto a trailer which a local pulled to the site on a snowmobile.

The team has a tent set up on the lake that houses their equipment during dives. (Saskatchewan RCMP )

The trip from shore to the location took about 30 minutes.

The team drilled five holes in the ice to insert sonar equipment and map the exact location of the airplane, which they were almost directly above.

According to tweets, the team drilled a larger, triangular hole in the ice for divers — leaving enough room for the tanks they carry on their backs.

On Wednesday, six members of the Manitoba underwater recovery team joined the Saskatchewan team.

The teams set up a tent with heaters over the hole and the divers connected an "umbilical cord," or three intertwined cables — one for air, one to communicate and one with air pressure to determine the diver's depth.

Two divers went down — one to tie a line to the plane to help guide others, and the other to videotape the plane.

The diver who was videotaping said the visibility at the bottom of the late was about one metre.

"They'll try to videotape the entire area of the wreckage, try to ascertain the damage to the plane, try to determine maybe what happened to the plane," said King.

"But that's solely judged on the damage they can observe."

Fast forward to Jan. 28, 2019: URT has arrived in Peter Pond Lake with their equipment and winter gear to once again attempt a recovery dive. Please stay tuned to our social media pages this week to follow their journey! —@RCMPSK

A 60-year mystery

Ray Gran was the pilot of the plane that crashed into the lake in 1959. The only other occupant was Harold Thompson, a conservation officer.

The plane was only recently discovered by Gran's daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Donald Kapusta, with the help of sonar expert Garry Kozak.

Through a sonar scan, they found the plane upside down in Peter Pond Lake. They passed the location on to Saskatchewan RCMP in August.

The RCMP told CBC at the time that the initial goal would be to collect photos and videos of the wreckage to assist with the Transport Canada investigation.

A spokesperson for the RCMP said divers would also try to recover the remains of both occupants.

The RCMP's social media team is tweeting updates during the mission. Follow along below.