Police recover 4 bodies from mid-air crash over Everglades www.privateofficer.com

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Miami Fla. Dec 8 2008

 

All four bodies of an apparent midair plane crash were recovered in the Everglades swamp this morning.

A Broward Sheriff’s Office airboat at about 11 a.m. brought in the bodies of Bryan Sax, 37, of Aspen, Colo., and Andrew Rossignol, 21, who is believed to have recently moved to the Stuart area from New England, sheriff’s spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said.

They were aboard a twin-engine Piper 44 that collided with a single-engine Cessna 172R sometime Saturday, Coleman-Wright said.

A short time later, the bodies of Stuart Brown, 25, of Pembroke Pines, and Edson Jefferson, 30, of Miramar, were found, she said.

4 Dead In Florida Mid-Air Collision www.privateofficer.com

BREAKING NEWS******
Miami Fla. Dec 8 2008

All four bodies of an apparent midair plane crash were recovered in the Everglades swamp this morning.

A Broward Sheriff’s Office airboat at about 11 a.m. brought in the bodies of Bryan Sax, 37, of Aspen, Colo., and Andrew Rossignol, 21, who is believed to have recently moved to the Stuart area from New England, sheriff’s spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said.

They were aboard a twin-engine Piper 44 that collided with a single-engine Cessna 172R sometime Saturday, Coleman-Wright said.

A short time later, the bodies of Stuart Brown, 25, of Pembroke Pines, and Edson Jefferson, 30, of Miramar, were found, she said.
The crash site is 2.7 miles southwest of Everglades Holiday Park, said Coleman-Wright.

Authorities think the two planes crashed in midair since wreckage was found very close together and both seemed to be heading to a flight-training zone, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

“It does appear to be a midair collision,” Bergen said. She said the National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause.

Eric Alleyne, an NTSB air safety investigator, said the wrecks of the two planes were found about 300 yards apart. The bodies of the victims were found in the cockpits.

“It’s an accident,” Alleyne said. “The most unique thing about it is is that it was probably midair.”

The recovery of the bodies was a relief for some relatives.

“The whole family is thankful for that,” said Brown’s cousin Rohan Brown, 35, who had been waiting since early this morning for news at a staging area for the recovery.

Stuart Brown was the pilot, and Jefferson was the passenger in the Cessna, said Meg Fensome, vice president of Pelican Flight Training at North Perry Airport.

Jefferson was originally from Jamaica but lived in Miramar, Fensome said this morning.

Brown, who also was from Jamaica, wanted to fly for that country’s airline.

Fensome said she had known Brown for two years.

“He was a very professional instructor and one of our favorite people,” Fensome said.

She said Jefferson was doing his instrument rating training when the crash occurred.

“He was just in the final steps of preparing for his check ride which is when he gets together with an FAA-designated examiner,” Fensome said. “We are waiting today. It’s going to probably be later today when they even get as far as taking the bodies out. We have to wait for the FAA, the NTSB.”

The wreckage was found just outside the flight-training area where a midair collision occurred a year ago.

On Dec. 8, 2007, two propeller planes crashed about a mile west of Lox Road, near the Palm Beach County-Broward line. Both pilots were killed.

The Cessna and Piper left North Perry Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, respectively, about 3:30 p.m. Saturday for flight training in western Broward County, Bergen said.

When neither plane returned, the owners reported them missing early Sunday.

A statewide alert system in Tallahassee notified the Sheriff’s Office that the planes were overdue about 6 a.m., starting the search, Coleman-Wright said.

Brown’s next-door neighbor in Pembroke Pines, Ethnie Clarke, said she did not know her neighbor by name, but saw him occasionally going to and coming from work in a uniform, sometimes carrying groceries. They would exchange greetings.
He’s a quiet person, very quiet,” she said. “And always in his uniform. … I’m really sorry to hear this.”

Brown’s apartment is about five miles west of North Perry.

Brown’s uncle, Michael Brown, said the victim’s parents were flying from Jamaica to make funeral plans.

“It’s just sad — four people lost thier lives doing something they loved,” Michael Brown said.

ATP Flight School at the Fort Lauderdale airport operated the Piper. Attempts to reach ATP representatives by phone on Sunday and this morning were not successful.

The pilots last communicated with air traffic control as they took off for the Everglades. They were flying under visual flight rules that require communication only during takeoffs and landings.

“They were not receiving air traffic control services, which is permissible in that area,” Bergen said. “They were not on a flight plan, so there was no identified time [of return]. It was at the discretion of the pilot.”

When the Sheriff’s Office received Sunday morning’s alert, it called the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard launched a Dolphin search-and-rescue helicopter that navigating through the morning’s thick fog and flew over the Everglades until officers saw three separate fields of debris about 8 a.m., Coleman-Wright said.

The Sheriff’s Office and members of the civilian group, Joint Airboat Rescue Emergency Deployment, launched airboats into the marshland.

“Midair collisions are extremely rare,” said Chris Dancy, spokesman for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. “When you get aircraft operating in close proximity to each other, even though it’s extremely rare, the chance of it occurring goes up.”