Stunt pilot David Riggs' body was found on Friday in a northeastern China lake where he crashed earlier this week.
Riggs, a stunt pilot based in the Los Angeles, Calif. area, was recovered from Caihu Lake in the capital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang. Search and rescue workers launched an investigation for Riggs that lasted almost three days, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was a notoriously controversial pilot who even had his license suspended twice.
The deceased pilot was performing a stunt on Tuesday that involved lowering the plane onto the water's surface, grazing the top to look like he was skiing.
He then crashed into the lake, whereupon the plane instantly broke in half. His chance for survival was low, as the water's temperature was well under 50 degrees.
"Based on the conditions at the scene, the plane had a strong impact when it crashed into the water and the plane was heavily damaged," Head of one of the rescue teams, Zhang Fang, told Chinese reporters this week.
The small stunt plane Riggs flew was not large enough to come with a black box that could show the cause of the crash.
Some witnesses said that Riggs had waved away recommendations that he cancel plans to fly, due to bad weather.
An 18-year-old Chinese woman who was traveling with Riggs as his translator at the time also died in the crash.
Riggs worked as a stunt pilot, engaging in controversial antics that brought on a slew of criminal and civil legal disputes, in addition to a website called aviationcriminal.com that was launched to bring him down.
The website accuses Riggs of being a three-time convicted felon for alleged bank, wire and passport fraud.
Riggs had his aviation license suspended in November 2012.
According to AFP, Riggs has appeared in the 2011 film "Man VS. Machine," in addition to a spot in a show called "Sport Science."
