Seaplane crashes off Miami, killing at least 6

[benburch]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10534159/

Seaplane crashes off Miami, killing at least 6
Ten others missing after aircraft slams into water within sight of shore

BREAKING NEWS
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 3:19 p.m. ET Dec. 19, 2005

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MIAMI - A seaplane with 16 people aboard crashed Monday just off Miami Beach, killing at least six people, authorities said.

The airplane crashed into the water shortly before 3 p.m., said Miami Beach Fire Department support services chief Javier Otero.

Chris O’Neil, a Coast Guard spokesman, told MSNBC TV that six bodies had been recovered and that rescuers were searching for any possible survivors.

Otero said the plane was one that regularly schedules flights to and from the Bahamas, but he did not know immediately whether the aircraft was incoming or outgoing.

[UpInArms]

1. related: Seaplane crashes in Miami, six dead - Coast Guard

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-12-19T202201Z_01_N19331355_RTRIDST_0_CRASH-SEAPLANE.XML

MIAMI, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A seaplane crashed and sank in Miami's main shipping channel on Monday, killing at least six people, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The seaplane, which flies between downtown Miami and the Bahamas, crashed just off the southern tip of Miami Beach after taking off with 14 passengers and two crew on board, Coast Guard Petty Officer James Judge said.

"We have six bodies recovered so far," Judge said.

...short blurb...

:(

[Cooley Hurd]

2. It was a Grumman G-73T owned by Chalk's...

http://www.chalksoceanairways.com/mallard/g73t.htm

[DinahMoeHum]

3. Those Chalks planes and the airline are rather famous. . .

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051219/ap_on_re_us/plane_crash

The planes have been featured in TV shows like "Miami Vice" and Jimmy Buffett has written quite a bit about them.

They fly regularly between Paradise Island, Bahamas, Bimini, Bahamas, Miami and Fort Lauderdale, FL.
www.chalksoceanairways.com

[SoCalDem]

5. They scare the crap out of me.. I flew on one once..

That was plenty for me..

[DinahMoeHum]

6. I've always wanted to fly on a seaplane. Now, I'm not too sure.

Then again, I've flown on regular "puddle-jumpers" to and from Key West and various Caribbean islands.

[onenote]

13. I think this may be their first fatal accident in over 75 years of flying

Not 100 percent sure about that, but I recall once hearing that they'd never had a fatality.

onenote

[pk_du]

4. CNN says 12 confirmed dead from 18 on board n/t

[happyslug]

7. More on Mallard

The G-73 Mallard was Grumman's third amphibian aircraft produced for the commercial market, after the Goose and the Widgeon. Fifty-nine of these executive aircraft were produced from 1946 to 1951. To date, at least thirty-five Mallards are accounted for in commercial or private operations worldwide.

http://www.mallardaviation.com/history.htm

[Redstone]

8. Jeez, you'd think since it's a float plane, they could have just, well,

landed in the water, wouldn't you?

(I know better than that, actually. Just getting the jump on someone else posting it.)

Redstone

[onenote]

12. since there was a mid air explosion

i don't think "landing" was an option.

onenote

[AndyTiedye]

15. Were Any of Jack Abramoff's Former Business Associates On Board?

:tinfoilhat:? I don't think so.
Tell me you didn't ask yourself the same question.

[Redstone]

16. That kind of ruins the buoyancy, doesnt' it?

Redstone

[GatoLover]

9. At least six dead in South Beach (Miami) plane crash

http://www.miamiherald.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted on Mon, Dec. 19, 2005



At least six dead in South Beach plane crash

By MATTHEW I. PINZUR and CHUCK RABIN
[email protected]

At least six people died Monday afternoon when a seaplane crashed just outside Government Cut near South Beach, sending jet skiers, surfers and rescue workers scrambling to pull passengers from the ocean.

Witnesses on South Beach said the plane flying east and trailing smoke before the rear burst into flames around 2:30 p.m.

''It was the most awful thing I've ever seen,'' said Cindy Streetman, a 45-year-old tourist from South Carolina, who saw the plane somersault into the water. ``I don't see how anyone could have survived.''

There were 14 passengers and two pilots aboard the plane, according to Coast Guard Spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil. Six bodies had been recovered by 3:30 p.m., and he said there were no reports of survivors.

The plane was operated by Chalk's Ocean Airways, a South Florida airline the flies to Bimini and Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The company had no immediate comment.

According to the airline's website, its fleet is ``undergoing an extensive refurbishment program which includes complete mechanical overhaul and cosmetic renovation, in addition to all new interior appointments.''

Dozens of people scoured the waters and a half-mile debris field of plane parts and fuel just outside Government Cut and south Miami Beach. At least a dozen rescue vehicles were on the scene, including air-rescue helicopters and a hazardous-materials team.

The last crash of a Chalk's plane came in 2000, when 15 passengers were virtually unscathed after an accident off Watson Island. Six years earlier, two crew members were killed when an otherwise-empty plane crashed off Key West. Those 1994 deaths were the only fatalities in Chalk's 85-year history.






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2005 MiamiHerald.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miami.com

[Catchawave]

10. 12 Said Killed in Plane Crash Off Miami

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/plane_crash;_ylt=AktQxY5MoiNmaYEzwkuSvFas0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - A seaplane carrying at least 16 people crashed off Miami Beach within sight of the city's high-rises Monday, killing at least 12 of those aboard, authorities said. Scuba divers and rescuers in speedboats struggled to reach the victims.

Still breaking :(

[NYdemocrat089]

11. MSNBC is now reporting at least 14 dead out of 20 onboard.

They said the airline was pretty popular amoung tourists and even celebrities.

[SW FL Dem]

14. Three infants on board according to CNN

so sad.