( CNN ) -- Bob Besal went on a fishing trip this month off the coast of St. Augustine , Florida . The 62-year-old retired rear admiral , who earned two Distinguished Flying Cross awards and spent a lifetime on the water and above it , did n't catch any fish , but he did return with some memorable souvenirs . Twenty miles from shore and 80 feet under the Atlantic , parts of Besal 's past were brought to the surface . Nearly 38 years ago , the naval aviator made a critical decision that almost cost him his life and ultimately defined it . Besal and three other pilots were simulating bombing runs on a training mission when his Vought A-7 Corsair clipped the plane next to him . Besal ejected at a speed close to 350 mph . `` It 's not one of those things you brag about , honestly , '' laughed Besal . `` I did n't cover myself in glory on December 2 , 1974 . So it 's one of those things if people asked I would tell them , but I did n't try to advertise it as such . '' Pilot who survived midair collision decades ago learns wreckage found . The wreckage of Besal 's plane was found last month by a team of divers from TISIRI ( Think It Sink It Reef It ) , a Jacksonsville-based marine conservation company that specializes , among other things , in building artificial reefs . A data plate picked up off the ocean floor was traced back to Besal , who now teaches aviation maintenance technology in Charleston , South Carolina . Joe Kistel , executive director of TISIRI , asked Besal if he would like to return to the wreckage site , an invitation Besal eagerly accepted . Just after dawn on a recent Saturday morning , Besal joined a crew for a 90-minute ride to the wreckage site . Little did he know that the decades-old ruins had become part of a productive ecosystem . `` The fact we could determine it was his aircraft and locate Bob and actually bring him out here to visit the reef his wreckage had created , it 's actually a very gratifying experience for us , '' said Kistel who had previously dived several times at the site now thriving with fish . Sea bass , scorpion , trigger and octopus now call the broken metal structure home . See the underwater wreckage . Kistel has no immediate plans to retrieve the larger plane parts . Said Kistel , `` We 've notified the military of where ( the plane is located ) ... Mother Nature is doing the rest . '' Daughter searches for missing father . The trip brings back memories for Besal , who was just 24 at the time of the accident . His misjudgment during a roll left brought his plane too close to an aircraft piloted by his squadron 's commanding officer . `` It was the last thing he expected that morning , I 'm sure , that I would bump into him up there . '' That plane made it safely back to base . Besal never saw his own aircraft go into the water because he was above the clouds when he ejected , and shortly afterward he was picked up by a training helicopter in the area . Besal , who went on to become commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS America , spent 30 years in the Navy . He used his flying miscalculation to develop a greater appreciation for errors made by others . He taught the next generation of cadets that mistakes are a part of life and what matters is what one does with second-chance opportunities . Floating above the wreckage , he took advantage of his . Diving conditions were good . White clouds , calm seas . On the first trip down to the bottom , divers retrieved a piece of armor plating . Besal studied it but was n't exactly sure what part of the plane it came from . `` That 's a substantial piece of evidence , '' he laughed . `` Maybe Exhibit A in my case of my episode in bad airmanship . '' Much of the debris , now a mix of tires , turbine blades and unrecognizable airplane features , is encrusted with marine life such as coral and sponges . `` You wished the day had turned out different , obviously , than it did , but it is what it is . I was blessed . I was fortunate that nobody else was hurt , '' Besal said . `` I 'm glad it happened out here if it had to happen , you know . '' As the day ended and temperatures started cooling off , the blue skies now streaked with purple highlights , Besal , his wife Jennie , Kistel and a dozen other divers , friends and observers returned to shore . Back on land , Besal was still beaming , `` I 'll treasure whatever Joe ( Kistel ) lets me have just as a keepsake of the event . It will certainly cause me to pause and remember that day and again to remember the incredible squadron mates I had and the people that entrusted me with that airplane . I may have broken that trust with the mishap , but they saw fit to trust me again , that 's what I 'll remember when I look at those ( pieces ) . CNN 's John Couwels contributed to this report .
Bob Besal crashed plane into water nearly 38 years ago . He recently learned wreckage from the plane had been found . Besal joined divers on a journey to see the remains . Ruins are now part of an active reef .