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NTSB: Plane crashed after wing fell off
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-21 19:03
Investigators plan to scour maintenance and flight
records in search of evidence that could show why a seaplane's wing broke off
during flight, causing the plane to plummet into the water, killing all 20
people on board.
The wing of a seaplane that crashed off Miami
Beach, Fla., is lifted by a crane on a barge from the waters of the crash
site Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005. The crash on Monday killed all 20 people on
board. The rest won't be raised until Wednesday, Coast Guard spokesman
Dana Warr said. Rosenker called it a delicate operation because moving the
plane too quickly could cause it to break under the weight of the water.
[AP] |
The propeller and engine were still attached when salvage crews raised the
right wing from the channel Tuesday where the 58-year-old turboprop aircraft
crashed.
The plane, headed to the Bahamas, crashed Monday into the mouth of Government
Cut channel off the southern tip of Miami Beach within sight of horrified
beachgoers. Investigators said Tuesday the crash was apparently caused when the
wing broke off.
Crews planned to raise the rest of the plane from 35 feet of water Wednesday.
Mark Rosenker, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said
the process would be slow and cautious because moving the plane too quickly
could cause it to break under the weight of the water.
Investigators also hoped to recover the cockpit voice recorder to see if it
captured the last words of the pilots and other clues. But the main portion of
the recorder was in the tail, which Rosenker said was difficult to reach because
the plane was mangled.
Specialists will try to determine whether corrosion and stress contributed to
the wing splitting from the fuselage. It could take nine months to a year to
report on the probable cause of the crash, Rosenker said.
"Unfortunately, we still have a great distance to go,"
he said.
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