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Small plane crash in Florida kills 4 www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2009
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Broward Fla Sept 22 2009
Four people aboard a small plane returning from University of Florida football game over the weekend were presumed dead on Sunday night night when the aircraft experienced engine trouble and crashed into swampland in West Broward, authorities said.
The single-engine plane went down west of U.S. 27 just south of the Broward-Palm Beach County line, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which sent search teams of firefighters and paramedics into the marsh Sunday. The cause of crash is unknown.
Moments before the crash, the pilot contacted operators at MIA’s control tower, reported engine trouble and declared mayday before the transmission cut off, according to Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators were at the crash scene, but it may take months to determine why the plane went down only a few miles from its Fort Lauderdale destination.
“It’s a long, thorough process,” said NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway.
Authorities presume the pilot and three passengers are dead because of the severity of the crash, said BSO spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion.
The plane’s pilot was Fort Lauderdale investment advisor Bruce Barber, a longtime aviator who owns and operates Bull Gator Air, according to friends.
Barber named his company after the UF team and would often take his plane — painted white with blue and orange stripes — north for weekend Gator games. He was an honored Bull Gator, part of the elite group of fans who donate thousands of dollars to the team.
Barber’s friend and former business partner, Eric Elliott, said the pilot and his family were returning from a weekend in Gainesville.
Elliott said those onboard included Barber’s wife Karen, 14-year-old son Payton and friend Phil Marsh. Not aboard the aircraft was their 9-year-old daughter Chloe, who they left at a friend’s home for the weekend.
Neither federal nor local investigators have provided a list of those who flew in Barber’s fixed-wing Piper PA-32R, but BSO deputies reported four people had boarded the plane in Gainesville.
BSO stated only one person’s body has been discovered in the marsh. The others are presumed dead.
Friends say the four flew north to attend a Friday fundraiser for Gov. Charlie Crist held at the home of Barber’s close friend, Miami attorney Danny Ponce.
The next day, they sat in Barber’s special box at the 50-yard line and enjoyed UF’s 23-13 win over the Tennessee Volunteers.
According to FlightAware.com, which tracks flights nationwide, Barber left Gainesville at 4:13 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport less than two hours later.
But just before 6 p.m., as it approached the airport from the northwest, the plane fell into the marsh west of U.S. 27.
BSO launched airboats to search for the downed plane and found the burning wreckage just south of the Broward-Palm Beach County line.
Local and federal agencies are coordinating to recover the remains of passengers and missing pieces of the plane.
News of the crash stunned Barber’s friend Elliott, who described him as a safe and “brilliant pilot.” Elliott himself took up flying after Barber convinced him to buy a plane together.
Elliott said the downed plane was equipped with three top-notch GPS navigation devices and a special storm-tracking radar system.
Four people aboard a small plane returning from University of Florida football game over the weekend were presumed dead on Sunday night night when the aircraft experienced engine trouble and crashed into swampland in West Broward, authorities said.
The single-engine plane went down west of U.S. 27 just south of the Broward-Palm Beach County line, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which sent search teams of firefighters and paramedics into the marsh Sunday. The cause of crash is unknown.
Moments before the crash, the pilot contacted operators at MIA’s control tower, reported engine trouble and declared mayday before the transmission cut off, according to Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators were at the crash scene, but it may take months to determine why the plane went down only a few miles from its Fort Lauderdale destination.
“It’s a long, thorough process,” said NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway.
Authorities presume the pilot and three passengers are dead because of the severity of the crash, said BSO spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion.
The plane’s pilot was Fort Lauderdale investment advisor Bruce Barber, a longtime aviator who owns and operates Bull Gator Air, according to friends.
Barber named his company after the UF team and would often take his plane — painted white with blue and orange stripes — north for weekend Gator games. He was an honored Bull Gator, part of the elite group of fans who donate thousands of dollars to the team.
Barber’s friend and former business partner, Eric Elliott, said the pilot and his family were returning from a weekend in Gainesville.
Elliott said those onboard included Barber’s wife Karen, 14-year-old son Payton and friend Phil Marsh. Not aboard the aircraft was their 9-year-old daughter Chloe, who they left at a friend’s home for the weekend.
Neither federal nor local investigators have provided a list of those who flew in Barber’s fixed-wing Piper PA-32R, but BSO deputies reported four people had boarded the plane in Gainesville.
BSO stated only one person’s body has been discovered in the marsh. The others are presumed dead.
Friends say the four flew north to attend a Friday fundraiser for Gov. Charlie Crist held at the home of Barber’s close friend, Miami attorney Danny Ponce.
The next day, they sat in Barber’s special box at the 50-yard line and enjoyed UF’s 23-13 win over the Tennessee Volunteers.
According to FlightAware.com, which tracks flights nationwide, Barber left Gainesville at 4:13 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport less than two hours later.
But just before 6 p.m., as it approached the airport from the northwest, the plane fell into the marsh west of U.S. 27.
BSO launched airboats to search for the downed plane and found the burning wreckage just south of the Broward-Palm Beach County line.
Local and federal agencies are coordinating to recover the remains of passengers and missing pieces of the plane.
News of the crash stunned Barber’s friend Elliott, who described him as a safe and “brilliant pilot.” Elliott himself took up flying after Barber convinced him to buy a plane together.
Elliott said the downed plane was equipped with three top-notch GPS navigation devices and a special storm-tracking radar system.
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