Late one November afternoon in 1942, a seaplane belonging to the United States Army Air Corps made two attempts to take off in rough waters near the village of Longue Pointe de Mingan, Quebec. After a large wave opened a leak, the seaplane foundered and sank on the second try. Fishermen who rowed out to the scene rescued only four of the nine crew members.

On Thursday, Parks Canada, a government agency, said an underwater archaeology team had discovered the apparently intact wreck of what it believed to be that American aircraft.

Officials said that human remains could still be on the plane. If that is confirmed, the Canadian government said, it will work with the Pentagon’s Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command to recover and identify the remains.