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20 killed in plane crash in US
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-20 16:04
A seaplane crashed just off Miami Beach, the United States, within sight of
the city's high-rises Monday, killing all 20 people aboard. Witnesses said the
aircraft exploded in flames as it came down, and the FBI joined the
investigation.
Amateur video obtained by CNN showed the main part of the plane 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.
A twin-engine Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard
seaplane of Chalk's Ocean Airways arrives from Bimini with Miami's skyline
in the background Tuesday, Jan. 30,
1996.[AP/file] | The Chalk's Ocean Airways plane ¡ª
a twin-engine Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard ¡ª went down around 2:30 p.m. after
taking off from Miami for the island of Bimini in the Bahamas.
The Coast Guard said 19 bodies were found. The 1940s-era plane was carrying
two crew members and 18 passengers, including three infants, authorities said.
Because of the witness reports of an explosion, 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."
Chalk's is a small air carrier that is not required to conduct federal
security screening of passengers and their luggage, said Dale Karlen, federal
security director at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The smoke trail from a Chalk's Ocean Airways
drops into the ocean Monday, Dec. 19, 2005 next to Miami Beach.
[AP] | With many schools already closed in advance
of the holidays and Christmas week traditionally one of the biggest times of the
year for 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 helicopters 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.
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, 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.
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