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Subscribe to RSSA woman who survived the crash of an aircraft on Saturday spent hours in the ocean off the U.S. Virgin Islands before being rescued and crews were searching for three other people six miles south of St. Thomas, the Coast Guard said.
The twin-engine Piper Aztec had been delivering newspapers to St. Croix and picked up passengers before heading back to St. Thomas, David Mapp, interim Virgin Islands Port Authority executive director, told The Associated Press.
The Piper was reported overdue at 7:50 a.m. Saturday, Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad, based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, told NBC News. He said it was unclear when the aircraft took off.
Aircraft in the area, including a C-130 Hurricane Hunter tracking Tropical Storm Rafael, reported a debris field, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
A Coast Guard helicopter spotted Valerie Jackson in the water about 2 p.m. local time and directed a Virgin Islands Department of Natural Resources boat to her. She told her rescuers that another woman and two men had been on the aircraft and she was taken to St. Thomas for treatment, the Coast Guard said.
The AP reported that Federal Aviation Administration records showed the plane's certification status had been terminated.
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Glad she survived. The AP reported that Federal Aviation Administration records showed the plane's certification status had been terminated. Then why was it flying? OH, nevermind, $
I was wondering the same thing, how did a plane without flight certification get clearance to take off. This woman is lucky in more ways than one. First, the water there is quite warm which improves chances for survival and second, she got lucky that no sharks came along. There are a lot of sharks in those water, so odds on survival if you are in the water are not that great. I guess she was lucky enough to not be bleeding which would have attracted sharks. At this point, the odds of finding the other three people who were on the plane alive are not at all good. If they were alive, or even if they managed to get out of the plane, you would expect that they would be in the same general vicinity as the woman they found. Since they have not located them, it does not look good. The odds are that they were unconscious from the crash or got trapped in the wreckage and drowned when the plane sunk.
Hopefully they find the rest alive. I know the post office motto is rain,sleet nor snow. I guess the newspaper is not even tropical storm will keep us from delivery.
there are a couple things to consider. First, the aircraft may have taken off of an uncontrolled airport without a tower. Even if they did take off from a airport with a control tower, there is very little chance controllers would have known the registration status. It is kind of like folks driving without a driver's license. Unless you are pulled over, no one knows it but you. Now, sometimes controllers might have specific information on a specific aircraft but unless this particular aircraft was a high value, law enforcement target, it is doubtful ATC know anything was wrong with the registration.
Sounds like the airframe time had expired.
This plane should have been scrapped.
Instead it was sold and continued to fly well past it's expirations.
.
UnitedStates1776, agree, both engines failed at the same time? or it just fell apart
Plenty of certified planes crash - I know a guy whose brand new engine failed, he and a friend survived with only a few broken bones (legs)...hit a few big trees in someones front yard and stayed in one of them about 20 feet up.
Love swimming in those waters (St. Martinique) you can float with no effort at all.
A commercial plane with no certification? That part doesn't make sense.
Was it owned by an airline?
It doesn't say it was a commercial flight, it could have like a "pirate" taxi, it was there and offered a ride for a few dollars. I some parts of the world regulations seem to be "optional."
Why should I have to verify if they are "certified"?? If they are allowed to fly,out of an airport that should indicate they are approved??
Whenever my husband & I travel we take such "cheap rides". CAN'T THEY SUE THE COMPANY OPERATING THE PLANE???
OBAMA/BIDEN . . KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE . . YOU PAYING FOR ME!!!!
Really? That's your answer to SUE SOMEONE? Geez...You don't get it. OH, I see, you're an Obama supporter. That explains the "someone owes me a cheap ride" attitude.
"The AP reported that Federal Aviation Administration records showed the plane's certification status had been terminated."
I think they mean the aircrafts` (singular) registration was revoked or expired.
Not good, not good at all...
Simple solution with all these little planes crashing all the time, buy a fricken parachute...
Problem solved..
and a life jacket...and a bag of cheetos...
plain bob; no Stevie Ray Vaughan songs for this article? I saw Stevie about 2 weeks before the crash (at the Gorge at George).
well started put up this leon russell number...just to stay on topic...like them bird noise'shttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5YsqabfzNE
nice tune. Hey - that yodeler chick was great (in more ways than one)...been trying to yodel for 3 days now...lmao.
check out the guitarma...response below...
well I hope you understand, I just had to go back, to the island.
Spoken like a man that has never jumped out of an airplane. Believe it or not, the airplane has to be designed for people to be able to jump out, aerodynamically. Most private/passenger aircraft these days do not have this design requirement, which means you jump out and immediately are slammed into either an engine, leading wing edge, tail empennage.... which would immediately shred you.
...or you could climb down the undercarriage and let go.
You're talking about islands where laws and rules are not the same as mainland U.S. and then looks at how
many people don't bother to follow them here either. People think because it says U.S. Virgin Islands that
the culture is the same as the mainland. It is not. Went once and once was enough.
LIVED THERE once and once was enough
Eric Clapton seems to like it there - but it did take like 5 years for them to build his house...pretty fast for Antigua...lol.
Antigua is not part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is an independent Caribbean nation.
How about you guys shut up and realize the sad reality is that someones mother,father,daughter, and son has lost thier lives when the 9/11 took place we were all concerned no one said how filthy New York was and that we have been there and never going back stop being so closed minded and open your hearts.
When it is not your time to go....
there will be plenty of toilet paper...but when it is your time to go...
whatever--- me tinks sumpin is sour in the milk---never know (;>o)----
I'm impressed if they can hit a driveway with a newspaper while flying by in an airplane. It seems like an expensive way to deliver papers though.....
let me guess it's cheaper to fly a plane and deliver papers than to hook a printer up to a fax machine...ok...hard to get drugs thru a fax machine...
Everybody blame!
guitarma...i blame it on ...time...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAGpXIis8Hk&feature=relmfu
She's obviously the only democrat on board, otherwise Obama would have the entire Navy looking for them.
Antoine, you're an idiot.
But you already know that.
why? are the virgin island's a "swing state"
Scooter
Only BVI! ;*) see if it is observed
The pilot is my uncle so I would appreciate if the negative talk would stop...Thank you
I hope they find your uncle alive, but either way there are bound to be some "negative" findings given the circumstances surrounding the crash.
These people are miserable idiots. Ignore their chatter.
Congrats Antoine Wilde, it took you 4 hrs to be the first in a tragic accident to bring up politics! What a cold hearted bastard!
maybe it was to much truth in his statement...calm down...plain bob 2012...i would have the air force looking for them...
Th pilot is my uncle so I would appreciate some support,love, and respect!And most inmportantly for the negative talk to cease.Thank you
I sincerely regret that your uncle is missing. I hope he and the other two passengers are found soon safe and unharmed.
The pilot Captain Kirby Hodge is my uncle and I would appreciate a little love, respect, and for the negativity to stop.Thank you
To GDSmith
Any idea why he was flying a plane that had the certification terminated? I hope this has a happy ending for everyone involved.
The plane wasn't his.He borrowed it just deliver the papers from St.Thomas to St.Croix yesterday. He owns a King Air C60 and a Citation 2 but they're too much just to fly couple bundles of newspapers to St.Croix.
Just a question, but isn't the pilot in command supposed to verify that there is a valid airworthiness certificate, registration certificate and owner's manual/operating limitations on the plane prior to take-off?
That's correct Kumar. AROW or ARROW in this case....
A= Airworthiness Certificate
R= Registration
R= Radio operators license (outside CONUS only)
O= Operating Limitations
W= Weight and Ballance
All must be verified on board by the pilot prior to flight.
Dear GDSmith ~
I'm so sorry for what appears to be the loss of your uncle. I'm saying that only after reading everyone's comments and seeing how that area is described. I'm hoping, too, that people will be aware of their need to be kind as you are going through this very scarey time. I'm glad to know the one woman survived, and I'm hoping that somehow everyone did. My heart is with you and the rest of your uncle's family and friends. Such a tragic situation.
I live in the virgin Islands, reports here from the local news websites claim that they have all been found alive and well.
thanks for the update...and good news...
That would be really good news. I hope it is true.
Untrue. Only Valarie was found; all the others are still missing.
That would be truly wonderful. The Pilot too?
GD Smith:
If your uncle was PIC, he alone was responsible for everything connected with the flight, including checking its status. The "certification process" normally occurs when an aircraft is first being designed and produced. The Piper Aztec was produced from 1952 to 1981, so no telling how old this airplane was or how many hours were on its engines and airframe. If it had spent an appreciable amount of time by the ocean, corrosion could been a major factor and it might not have been airworthy and thus was not legal to fly.
And I bet when you borrow your friend's car or rent one you check out the maintenance logs and inspect the oil and transmission fluid level, coolant level, and breaks too. I also bet if you crashed the car because of faulty breaks or a stuck accelerator you would be screaming your lungs out that it wasn't your fault it was the fault of whomever owned the car.
BTW I'm not saying he isn't responsible. I'm just saying that no one probably checks anything more than what's on the preflight card. I doubt an airline pilot does anything more.
If the Pilot in Command was a licensed pilot in the USA (by the FAA), there are no excuses. He is requred to check for 3 things in the plane (airworthiness certificate, registration certificate and operating manual/operating limitatons) prior to take off as well as walk-around inspection and run-up.
@ Rex what on earth does GD smith have to do with those facts? are u saying if he made such a mistake we should not be concerned for his safety? grow up all of you in this forum need to honestly just grow up......point fingers after u know all the facts and the return for all there safety....sickening.
Generally speaking, fixed-wing General Aviation aircraft do not have 'airframe times'. In the U.S. must have annual inspections, and if they are in commercial service (e.g., rental, air taxi, etc.) they must have 100-hour inspections as well. As long as they are airworthy, they can fly. There is no reason to scrap an airplane based on how many flight hours it has. If the cost of repair exceeds the value delivered, then scrapping might be in order.
Aw, I coulda' done it. (Just kidding: Well done!)
GDSmith, First let me offer my condolences for your loss. Or congratulations if your uncle has indeed been found alive as reported (uncited) above. Let us hope the latter applies.
I don't know if you are a pilot, but many of us take to heart the following quote: 'Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect.' -- Captain A. G. Lamplugh, British Aviation Insurance Group, London. c. early 1930's.
In practice, this often results in pilots coming off as callous whilst they engage in armchair post-crash analysis. I think this is something of a coping mechanism. 'That fool screwed the pooch, but I wouldn't do that!' It allows us to believe that we are Superior Pilots, even if we never meet with an emergency. Of course, this 'armchair analysis' does not often occur where family members of the accident pilot can overhear. The Internet makes such contact more possible. In real life, pilots can be more discrete. On the 'Net, not so much.
The fact is that an aircraft was lost, and until we receive confirmation, lives were lost. We do not know the circumstances of the crash. It may have been caused by something completely beyond the pilot's immediate control. Still, the pilot in command has the final responsibility for the safety of the flight -- and this includes insuring that the aircraft is airworthy. The documentation is there to show whether it is. If they were falsified, then he would not have known. If they were not, it was incumbent upon him to be aware of what was in them. It may have been an innocent mistake, and we all make them occasionally. Very few pilots I know check the airworthiness documentation of aircraft they rent, because there is little reason to believe that an aircraft is not airworthy. But innocent mistakes, omissions, and oversights can be deadly. Sometimes you only get to make one mistake.
I saw a photo of Kirby Hodge standing by a larger aircraft than an Aztec. He is professionally dressed, and his pose gives the impression of a professional attitude. If the airplane behind him is one in which he was checked out, then he must have had experience. His actions in his last flight may have been his one mistake.
We, posting here, are not deaf to the suffering of the family. I offer my own condolences. But pilots tend to be analytical, and data can sometimes be painful.
Why fly? J/K , Well the Virgin Islands is as good a place as any to land i guess. I liked it there but i still prefer Hawaii.
They were not found as yet.But I can say he was a very careful pilot. Never careless. The plane in the background is a Citation II jet that he bought to do charters. I flew with him many times and he wasn't analytical. He never took risks, he respected the air. He maintained his planes every six months. No quick fixes,replacements. He abided by "you're only as good as your equipment." Another thing the Virgin Islands might not be the greatest place on the planet, but not everyone there are the same.
People let us all stop talking nonsense and pray for Kirby and the rest of the passengers for their safe return. For crying out loud have some dam respect!!! I live here on island and I know Kirby very well. He will NEVER, EVER put his life or anyone life in danger when flying his plane. Y'all are so dam negative.