One story said that when rescuers got there, the tail of the plane was sticking out of the water. But the initial reports said that Fuddy was found in the fuselage. Obviously the military pilot called to report the crash before help arrived, and at that point he reported 8 people with life jackets in the water. If the crash pilot thought everybody was fine when there were only 8 people floating in the water, it would have to be because the 9th person had already started to swim for shore. And the later reports said that Fuddy had made it out of the fuselage. They’re saying that Yamamoto held Fuddy’s hand until Fuddy let go - that they were separated by waves. But then why did she end up in the fuselage?
” But then why did she end up in the fuselage?”
Sounds like it was an erroneous report?
There are two reports I can find about where Fuddy was found.
The only person reporting that Fuddy’s body was found in the fuselage was a fire chief from a department NOT participating in the rescue.
From http://www.khon2.com/news/plane-crashes-in-waters-off-molokai you have the Fire Chief of Honolulu reporting that Fuddy’s body was recovered from the fuselage. His exact words were: “That person remained in the fuselage of the plane. Not much details. Always a difficult situation when you can’t get everyone out, and unfortunately that was the case here.”
I have no idea where the Honolulu Fire Chief was getting his information. The rescue was performed by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Maui Fire Department.
The reports I’ve read have all stated that getting folks off the plane and into their life jackets was the number one priority. Absolutely nothing in any other report talks of anyone remaining on the plane. If that had happened, it would have been a big deal and would have been prominent in other news reports. It wasn’t.
How about a first hand report? You have actual quotes from U.S. Coast Guard rescuers in http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/24210150/rescuers-recall-rescue-mission-after-fatal-plane-crash. They report that Fuddy’s body was found about 200 yards from the nearest survivor. Personally, I find their report a lot more credible than the words of a fire chief whose department wasn’t even involved in the rescue!