Rescuers search for 20th victim of Bahamas-bound seaplane crash

Investigators look at a portion of a wing, from a
Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard, a twin-engine
amphibious aircraft, resting on a rock jetty 20
December, 2005 off Miami Beach, Florida. The charter
aircraft, which belonged to Chalk's Ocean Airways,
crashed in shallow waters at the entrance to Biscayne
Bay, which separates the cities of Miami and Miami
Beach, soon after taking off 19 December, killing all 20
persons on board. AFP PHOTO/POOL/Pat Farrell

This undated image obtained 20 December, 2005
shows a Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard, operated by
Chalk's Ocean Airways, landing on the water near
Nassau in the Bahamas.  AFP PHOTO/PETER DUCKWORTH

by Randy Nieves-Ruiz

Wednesday,  December 21, 2005

MIAMI BEACH, USA (AFP):  Rescuers on Tuesday searched for the body of one of the 20 people killed when a Bahamas-bound seaplane burst into flames and plunged into the ocean just off Miami Beach in full view of beachgoers.

Divers also hoped to retrieve some of the wreckage of the twin engine aircraft, which plummeted into the ocean just minutes after its waterborne take-off on a flight to the island of Bimini in the Bahamas on Monday.

Officials said the crew of two and the 18 passengers, three of them infants, were killed in the fiery crash. Nineteen of the bodies were recovered within hours of the crash, and most were found still strapped to their seats.

Eleven of the victims were from Bimini, a flyspeck island just 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Miami, according to the Bahamian consulate in Miami.

"The majority came to attend relatives' graduation and shop for their families," a spokeswoman for the consulate said.

The charter aircraft, which belonged to Chalk's Ocean Airways, crashed in shallow waters at the entrance to Biscayne Bay, which separates the cities of Miami and Miami Beach, soon after taking off Monday afternoon.

Boaters, jet-skiers and surfers were the first on the scene, joined within minutes by police and Coast Guard teams.

Authorities closed the channel as the search was underway, delaying the departure of cruise ships that were scheduled to set off on Monday.

Video footage broadcast on CNN showed what appeared to be the plane's right wing breaking off in flames as the fuselage banked to the left and spiraled into the ocean.

Accident investigators said they were not ruling out any possible cause for the crash.

"We will be looking at everything in the investigation, nothing is off the table," said National Transportation and Safety Board acting chairman Mark Rosenker.

FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said agents were sent to the crash scene as a routine matter "to make sure there's no terrorist link."

The airplane, a 17-passenger Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard -- a twin-engine amphibious aircraft manufactured in 1947 capable of operating from water as well as land-based airports -- was upside down under several feet (meters) of water and visible from the air.

One witness, who identified herself only as "Terry W.", was surfing close to the rocks with a group of friends at the time of the crash.

"It went right over my head, when I looked up it was on fire. It was about 20 feet (six meters) above the water. I really thought it would land on us."

Then "there was a loud squealing sound and lots of smoke came out of the back" and it went down, she said.

Richard Lopes was fishing on the jetty when the plane went down. "The plane made a sharp left-hand turn, and then there was a huge ball of fire," he told AFP.

The plane "blew up before it hit the water," said dockworker Juan Lopez.

The plane is owned by 86-year-old Chalk's Ocean Airways, which says that until Monday none of its planes had ever crashed with passengers on board.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based airline says on its website that its fleet of G-73T planes "is undergoing an extensive refurbishment program which includes complete mechanical overhaul and cosmetic renovation."

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