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kristin31
Member
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Joined: 15 May 2002
Posts: 8045
Location: Caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom
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 Posted: 12/19/05 - 22:10 Post subject: I can't imagine seeing THIS happen.
One of my co-workers just flew back here two days ago on one of their planes. This is sad.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10534159/
MIAMI - A propeller-driven seaplane carrying 20 people crashed off Miami Beach within sight of the city’s high-rises Monday, killing at least 19 of those aboard, authorities said. Witnesses said the plane blew apart in the air, and the FBI joined in the investigation.
Amateur video obtained by CNN showed the main part of the aircraft slamming into the water followed by a flaming object trailing thick black smoke.
Scuba divers and rescuers in speedboats struggled to reach the victims, but as evening fell, they found no sign that anyone survived.
The twin-engine Chalk’s Ocean Airways plane went down about 2:30 p.m. ET shortly after takeoff. Chalk’s Ocean Airways operates regular seaplane flights between Miami and the Bahamas.
The Coast Guard said 19 bodies were found. The plane was carrying two crew members and 18 passengers, including three infants, authorities said.
Three Coast Guard vessels and a helicopter were involved in the rescue operations. Bystanders joined in, using private boats, Jet Skis and surfboards.
Twin-engine amphibious aircraft
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard, a twin-engine amphibious aircraft powered by two Pratt & Whitney-Canada PT-6 turbine engines. The aircraft is capable of operating from water as well as land-based airports.
The aircraft that went down was built in 1947 and is registered to Seaplane Adventures LLC in Greenwich, Conn., according to FAA records.
The plane had a clean safety record with no reported incidents for more than 21 years. In February 1984, the elevator trim tab, which controls pitch, failed and caused the steering column to shake. In April of that year, the landing gear failed to retract, and investigators found the nose gear assembly was overstressed.
No passengers or crew were injured in either incident, according to the records.
Because of witness reports of an explosion before the plane went down, the FBI sent agents to assist in the investigation, but there was no immediate indication of terrorism or sabotage, said Judy Orihuela, spokeswoman for the FBI's Miami field office.
“It's too soon to say whether we are going to get involved,“ Orihuela said. “We're just going to check it out.”
With many schools already closed in advance of the holidays and Christmas week traditionally one of the biggest times of the year tourism, the beach was relatively busy, and dozens of beachgoers saw the plane go down. Dozens more gathered to watch the rescue.
As Coast Guard helicopers hovered over the crash site, some surfers remained in the water, only a few hundred feet away. Some surfers used their boards to rush toward the spot where the plane went down.
One witness, Frank Amadeo, told WSVN-TV that he saw a huge explosion in the sky and the plane fall behind a condominium tower on Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach.
Another witness, Peter Higney, who said he witnessed the crash from a nearby office building, told MSNBC TV that fire erupted on the right wing of the plane and that the wing came off moments before the crash.
Sandy Rodriguez, 14, said he saw the plane flying low with white smoke trailing from it and flames coming from the bottom. The right wing then fell off as the plane went down behind a condominium tower on Biscayne Bay in Miami Beach, he said.
“It exploded in the air and one of the wings flew out of there. The other part of the plane was on fire and it just went straight down,” said Maurice D’Giovianni, 42, a surfer who was in the water at the time.
Coast Guard spokesman Dana Warr also saw the crash from the Coast Guard office on Government Cut. “Everything looked normal, I saw the aircraft take off like it does every other times. I didn’t think anything of it when I saw the black smoke from the pier, until I then heard the Coast Guard alarms go off,” he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate.
The plane went down in Government Cut, a channel that cruise ships and freighters take past South Beach into the Port of Miami. The channel is up
WTBJ / MSNBC TV
This photo, taken from a bystander's cell phone, shows smoke and fire coming from the seaplane on Monday.
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to 30 feet deep near the crash site, but parts of the plane could be seen in shallower areas.
The skies were cloudy, but there was no rain or lightning in the area at the time of the crash.
Chalk’s Ocean Airways was founded in 1919. Its floating planes take off on the water. Chalk’s aircraft have been featured in TV shows such as “Miami Vice.” Its seaplanes take off in view of the port and the multimillion-dollar homes that dot islands in the bay.
Founded by Arthur “Pappy” Chalk, the small airline thrived during Prohibition, taking bootleggers, their customers and Customs agents to Bimini.
Airline's plane hijacked to Cuba in 1974
One of its Grumman Gooses was hijacked to Cuba in 1974, and the company has since had a policy of not carrying enough fuel to get to Havana.
Two years later, the airline was sold to Resorts International, which owned properties on Paradise Island.
Donald Trump bought it in 1988 and sold it a few months later to Merv Griffin.
The owner as of 1995 was Seth Atwood of United Capital Corp. of Illinois/Atwood Enterprises. The airline flew Dash 7 40-seat turboprops back then.
According to FlightSafe Consultants' Airline Safety Web site, Chalk's has had no known fatal accidents involving passengers. Similarly, the NTSB database shows no fatal accidents for Chalk's since 1982, when the database started.
The only crash involving fatalities occurred March 18, 1994, when two pilots died after their seaplane crashed near Key West, according to the airline.
The airline had no comment after the crash.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Cappy
Excelent
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Joined: 16 May 2002
Posts: 27368
Location: Spreadsheetylvania
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Posted: 12/20/05 - 05:31 Post subject:
I just this on the news this morning. Very sad, and three infants were among the dead
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Floridaboiler
POTFH
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Joined: 18 May 2002
Posts: 11322
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
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Posted: 12/20/05 - 05:35 Post subject:
I heard this last night. That really stinks. 
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JACKED UP
PRESIDENT
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Joined: 06 Jun 2003
Posts: 21238
Location: www.johnnydu.com
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Posted: 12/20/05 - 05:37 Post subject:
X 1000
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All times are GMT - 4 Hours
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