THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605120190
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: MIAMI LENGTH: Long : 132 lines
By airboat and helicopter, rescuers searched the muck and shallow water of the Everglades, but they quickly realized the grim reality: None of the 109 people on board a ValuJet DC-9 survived when their plane slammed into the ground west of Miami International Airport on Saturday.
The jet, bound for Atlanta and airborne for only about 20 minutes, crashed after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit and tried to return to Miami's airport, authorities said.
``There doesn't seem to be any hope,'' said Stewart P. Thomas of Coral Gables, whose daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were on the jet. ``The screens on TV have gotten pretty close. I can't see any metal larger than a dishpan.''
Firefighters, paramedics and police officers - who have trained for just such a tragedy - could do little Saturday afternoon but slosh through the mud.
Bodies were sighted, but fuel that could have been easily ignited and the natural terrain hampered rescue efforts to the point where even airboats were eventually prohibited from skimming the river of grass to help.
``It is just all swamp and sawgrass. It will probably take three or four days to clean up. It will all have to be all done by airboat,'' said J.C. Esslinger, a state wildlife officer. ``It is going to be ugly out there.''
Frank E. Ireland, commander of Everglades Search and Rescue, a private company, warned that alligators might get to the remains before rescuers could.
Valujet Flight 592 took off from Miami International at 2:05 p.m. - one hour and five minutes late - with 104 passengers and a crew of five, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Christy Williams.
It was scheduled to land two hours later in Atlanta.
``What we have is a high-impact crash,'' said a somber Luis Fernandez, spokesman for the Metro-Dade Fire Department.
The FAA's Williams gave this account of Flight 592's last minutes:
The DC-9 took off and had traveled less than 100 miles west of Miami when the cockpit crew radioed Miami traffic controllers to report smoke billowing into the cockpit. It had been airborne eight minutes.
The plane, then at an altitude of 10,500 feet, turned around and tried to make it back to Miami International.
At about 2:25 p.m., Miami air traffic control lost Flight 592 from its radar screens. The jet went down, apparently nose first, about 14 miles northwest of Miami International.
It disintegrated on impact in a desolate area of wet earth, patches of grass and trees.
A private pilot from Miami Beach who was flying west at the time told Cable News Network he saw the plane go down. Daniel Muelhaupt said he was about two miles from the plane , when he saw what he at first thought was a small plane doing maneuvers. The jet was pointing down at an angle of about 75 degrees.
``When it hit the ground, the water and dirt flew up,'' Muelhaupt said. ``The wreckage was like if you take your garbage and just throw it on the ground, it looked like that.''
Muelhaupt said he radioed authorities and circled until they reached the scene, which took a long time because there were no visible flames or large chunks of aircraft to focus on.
``Access was a major, major problem. The plane was broken up into many pieces and submerged in 4 to 5 feet of water.'' said Metro-Dade's Fernandez.
Helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard, Metro Police and the Dade Fire Department finally located the crash site and reported no signs of survivors, just minuscule pieces of shredded metal, baggage, bodies and a crater shaped like a candle flame. The crash site is very close to where an Eastern Airlines L1011 crashed in 1972, the worst local air disaster before Saturday.
While rescuers searched in vain, distraught relatives of passengers rushed to the ValuJet counter at Miami International. Company officials quickly moved them to an auditorium, where counselors were available to help them.
ValuJet has been one of the most successful startups in airline history, but its rapid growth has been tainted by several accidents and questions about the reliability of its aged fleet.
Saturday afternoon, ValuJet's president spoke from Atlanta.
``It's impossible to put into words how devastating something like this is,'' said Lewis Jordan, president and chief operating officer.
The jet was about 25 years old and was last inspected Tuesday , Jordan said.
``There's no concern that the engine is in any way suspected at this time,'' he said. He said there were no tapes available yet of the cockpit's conversation with the tower.
President Clinton also issued a statement from the White House offering his condolences.
Clinton asked Transportation Secretary Federico Pena and FAA Administrator David Hinson to personally inspect the accident scene. National Transportation Safety Board investigators were en route Saturday night.
Flight 592 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 configured with 113 passenger seats. It is powered by Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A engines.
At the crash site, Metro fire and the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission officers gathered about a half mile from the crash on a canal levy. Copters landed on the ridge, dropping off firefighters.
Their efforts were delayed until hazardous material specialists could check the area. There was concern about possible fuel leakage and explosion.
But as it grew dark, the search was called off. Rescue officials said the fuel floating atop the water posed too great a risk for the airboats.
Police said they would continue the search today, when they could more easily assess the dangers.
Rescue crews still had not determined whether the aircraft disintegrated on impact or partially lodged itself in the soft, marshy terrain of the Everglades.
``It looks like a large part of the airplane must be below the muck and mud. That stuff can be very deep before you hit shell rock,'' or limestone, said Major Jim Ries, of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by Knight-Ridder News Service and
The Associated Press.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Coast Guard helicopter passes the site of the ValuJet crash
Saturday in the Everglades. The crash left only small pieces of
shredded metal. Much of the wreckage was submerged in 4 to 5 feet of
water.
Map
KRT
Graphic
For people seeking information about relatives who may have been
aboard the flight, Valujet has provided this number: 1-800-486-4346
For news updates on the crash, call 640-5555 and dial 1111.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT PLANE FATALITIES VALUJET by CNB