The pilot never did that though. According to the president of the company, a DIFFERENT plane that was circling the area at the time reported the crash to the airport tower when the wreckage and survivors with life jackets were visible in the water. The president says that is how anybody knew anything about the crash. The pilot didn’t call anybody.
Any ideas why that would be so?
That is pretty damned odd. It isn’t a major effort to transmit since the mike switch is on the yoke (a thumb switch on the left hand side of the yoke). It is as easy as moving your thumb to depress the switch and transmit. You would think that the pilot would report SOMETHING if he were losing altitude and headed for the drink.