Witness Video Shows Wing Separated From Plane, Fire
One person remains
missing in Monday's fatal accident involving a Chalk's Ocean
Airways Flight 101, a Grumman seaplane, as investigators continue
the search for clues in the fiery mishap that claimed 19
lives. A horrific video caught just after a witness heard an
explosion shows the stricken Mallard falling to the water, with
what appears to be the right wing separated from the aircraft
engulfed in flames.
News organizations later showed video of the wing washed up
along the rocky shore of Government Bay, which is a channel
commonly used by cargo ships and ocean liners docking at the Port
of Miami. The plane went down shortly after takeoff en route to
Bimini, home to many of the passengers onboard.
"The plane was flying very low and I could tell it was
crashing," witness Sabine Hugueny told ABC News. "There was a big
ball of fire on the right side of the plane where the wing meets
the body. You could see that the plane was leering to the side, and
then, suddenly, the wing came off."
The video (below) does not show the wing separating from the
fuselage, and there are several conflicting accounts from witnesses
as to whether the explosion caused the wing to separate, or if the
separation occurred and was then followed by the explosion.
As was reported Monday in
Aero-News, the Government Cut crash was the first
fatal accident involving passengers in the airline's history. The
airline did have a fatal accident in 1994, in which two pilots were
killed flying another Mallard.
Chalk's Ocean Airways has been around, in one form or another,
since 1919 -- rivaling Dutch carrier KLM for the distinction of the
oldest continuously operating airline in the world.
"We are a close-knit,
family airline, and most of our passengers have been our customers
for an extended period of time," said Chalk's general manager Roger
Nair during a news conference following the accident.
According to the airline's website, Chalk's Flying Service
thrived during Prohibition, ferrying an unlikely mix of
passengers.
"Rum-running was a source of bountiful business for Chalk's and
the company did not discriminate among passengers, carrying not
only smugglers, but also the lawmen chasing them," according to a
company history on Chalk's Web site.
Chalk's aircraft fly routes to the Bahamas from the airline's
base on Watson Island, FL. One of its planes was hijacked to Cuba
in 1974 -- forcing the subsequent implementation of a policy to not
carry enough fuel to reach Havana on any of its flights.
The airline was renamed Chalk's Ocean Airways in 1999, after it
was purchased by Florida businessman Jim Confalone. The airline is
in the midst of an "extensive refurbishment" of its airline fleet,
according to the website.
The aircraft -- N2969, a Grumman G73 Turbo Mallard (file photo
of type, above) -- was built in 1949, and had since had its
engines converted to Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6s. While the
age of the aircraft has been questioned by a variety of media
sources, FAA and NTSB investigators have stressed repeatedly the
age is not being singled out as a factor in the accident.
So, what is? No one knows, yet. Investigators plan to raise the
fuselage of the aircraft today.
********************************************************************************
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 2969
Make/Model: G73T Description: G-73T
Turbo Mallard
Date: 12/19/2005 Time: 1941
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury:
Fatal Mid Air: N Missing:
N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: MIAMI State: FL Country:
US
DESCRIPTION
N2969, A CHALKS AIRWAY CHK101, GRUMMAN G-73 ACFT, CRASHED
SHORTLY AFTER
TAKEOFF INTO THE BISCAYNE BAY UNDER UNKNOWN
CIRCUMSTANCES, THERE WERE 19
REPORTED FATALITIES, GOVERNMENT CUT, MIAMI,
FL
INJURY DATA Total Fatal:
19
# Crew: 2 Fat:
2 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Pass: 17 Fat:
17 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
# Grnd:
Fat: 0 Ser:
0 Min:
0 Unk:
WEATHER: NOT REPORTED
OTHER DATA
Departed: MIAMI,
FL
Dep Date: Dep.
Time:
Destination:
BAHAMAS
Flt
Plan:
Wx Briefing:
Last Radio Cont:
Last Clearance:
FAA FSDO: MIAMI, FL
(SO19)
Entry date: 12/20/2005
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