( CNN ) -- As German Gen. Erwin Rommel chased British forces across the North African desert , a stray Royal Air Force fighter crashed in the blistering sands of the Egyptian Sahara on June 28 , 1942 . The pilot was never heard from again . The damaged Kittyhawk P-40 -- a couple of hundred miles from civilization -- was presumed lost forever . Until now . In what experts consider nothing short of a miracle , a Polish oil company worker recently discovered the plane believed to have been flown by missing Flight Sgt . Dennis Copping . And almost 70 years after the accident , it 's extraordinarily well-preserved . The fighter 's `` state of preservation is incredible , '' British military historian Andy Saunders told CNN . `` The thing just landed there in the desert and the pilot clearly got out . ... It is a complete time capsule really ( and ) an exceptionally rare find . These things just do n't happen . '' Most of the plane 's fuselage , wings , tail and cockpit instruments remain intact . For safety reasons , Egyptian officials have removed its ammunition and guns . See additional photos . Copping 's plane -- authorities have not confirmed his identity , though it has been widely reported in British newspapers -- crashed after the 24-year-old pilot got lost while trying to fly it from one RAF base to another for repairs to its front landing gear , which would n't retract . Copping , part of the RAF 's Egyptian 260 Squadron , was trying to get the American-built plane back in fighting condition in the run-up to what would prove to be the pivotal Battle of El Alamein . The young pilot , according to Saunders , apparently became disoriented during the flight and headed in the wrong direction . Another RAF pilot flying nearby `` tried all sorts of things '' to get his attention , but Copping `` bizarrely '' ignored a series of warnings , Saunders said . By the time Copping realized his mistake , he was too low on fuel to turn around . Several pieces of evidence at the crash site -- including a parachute believed to have been used as shelter from the sun -- indicate the strong probability Copping survived the landing . He almost certainly could not , however , survive the blazing Sahara heat for long . Copping `` would have stayed by the aircraft initially , '' Saunders noted . While the plane 's glass valve radio was likely knocked out of commission by the crash , `` the parachute gives him shelter and a means to be identified from the air . The guy also would have had a little silver signaling mirror to attract passing aircraft and a pistol with a limited number of flares . '' Why would Copping leave the wreckage ? `` Maybe he got desperate when he saw nobody was coming for him , and thought ( the ) only way to survive was to walk out '' and look for help , Saunders speculated . RAF pilots in North Africa at that time did n't have much in terms of rations . Copping 's supply would have been very limited , assuming he had food or water at all . Pilots were `` flying with very basic life support systems , '' Saunders said . `` His chances of survival were not good . '' As Copping 's story becomes known , British authorities are hoping to bring his plane back to the United Kingdom and put it on display at the RAF Museum in London . Museum representatives are working with the British Embassy in Cairo and Britain 's Ministry of Defence on a possible recovery operation . `` It 's an incredible story , '' said museum spokesman Michael Creane . `` It 's a perfect story in so many ways . It 's incredible the plane sat there in this untouched part of the world for so long . ... We 're dedicated to recovering it as fast as we can . This would be a fantastic asset . ''
Oil company Shell finds World War II - era Royal Air Force fighter in Morocco 's Sahara Desert . The well - preserved plane is believed to have been flown by Flight Sgt . Dennis Copping . The Kittyhawk P-40 crashed on June 1 , 1942 . British officials want to display the plane in the RAF Museum in London .