Cracks found in wing of beach crash seaplane

THE wing that fell off a seaplane before it crashed, killing all 20 people on board, had cracks in the main support beam that had probably gone unseen for a long time, federal investigators said yesterday.

Mark Rosenker, acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), stopped short of saying the cracking was the sole reason the right wing fell off the 58-year-old plane on Monday shortly after it took from Miami for the Bahamas.

But Mr Rosenker told a news conference that the cracking should have been found and repaired, although it would have taken “a very serious” inspection to find it.

The Chalk’s Ocean Airways plane plummeted into the Government Cut channel off the southern tip of Miami Beach in front of horrified beachgoers.

Mr Rosenker said that if Chalk’s officials had known about the cracking “they would have repaired it and we wouldn’t be here today. I don’t think they knew it”.

The propeller and engine were still attached when salvage crews raised the right wing from the channel.

Mr Rosenker said the plane’s age could have been a factor in the cracking. The plane was retrofitted in the 1980s with more powerful engines.

Chalk’s officials had no immediate comment.

Chalk’s Ocean Airways was founded in 1919, and its aircraft have been featured in TV shows including Miami Vice. Its floating planes take off in view of the port and waterfront multi-million-dollar homes.