A small, unresponsive private aircraft Friday overshot its expected destination of Naples Municipal Airport and was tracked by two U.S. F-15 fighters before it crashed off the coast of Jamaica nearly six hours after it took off from Rochester, N.Y.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane went down about 14 miles northeast of Port Antonio, Jamaica at 2:15 p.m. A U.S. Coast Guard C-130 from Clearwater and Coast Guard ships were en route.
'We don't know if there are any survivors,' said Desmond Campbell, a spokesman with the Jamaican Information Services. 'But I don't think there are.'
The plane is owned by a company that has the same address as a Rochester real estate firm, according to FAA records. The firm, Buckingham Properties, is owned by developer Larry Glazer, 68, who also is president of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association.
The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported that Glazer and his wife, Jane, were killed in the crash. The Glazers own a million-dollar home in Naples' Colliers Reserve golfing community. Glazer's company has several properties in Florida, including in Lakeland and Plant City.
The Rochester paper said sources close to the Glazers reported the couple had planned to spend the weekend in Naples.
Campbell said that the Defense Force was sending two aircraft to the scene and search-and-rescue dive teams were being deployed.
FAA air traffic controllers began tracking the Socata TBM700 through U.S. airspace after the pilot stopped responding to radio calls at about 10 a.m. The plane had departed from Greater Rochester International Airport at 8:26 a.m., according to FlightAware, a flight tracking service.
The U.S. Coast Guard said there were three people aboard the light business and utility single-engine turbo prop, which seats six or seven passengers.
'We saw the windows were fogged up, which led us to believe the pilots were unconscious,' said NORAD Capt. Jennifer Stadnyk.
The light business and utility single-engine turbo prop flew along the east coast of Florida, entered Cuban air space and crossed the island before leaving the island near Manzanillo in southeastern Cuba.
The plane is owned by a company, which has the same address as a Rochester real estate firm, according to FAA records. bberitaa.blogspot.com reported that the firm, Buckingham Properties, is owned by developer Larry Glazer, who also is president of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association.
The plane had been flying at 25,000 feet, but FlightAware showed it had slowed and begun to descend slightly at around 2 p.m. The FAA said it believed the plane, which has a range of about 1,700 miles, ran out of fuel around that time.
Miami Herald Staff Writer Ina Cordle contributed to this report.
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Posted by Unknown on Friday, September 5, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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