Posted on 12/03/2005 5:00:37 AM PST by billorites
A prominent New York philanthropist whose family built the Harvard School of Business is presumed dead in frigid waters off Nantucket after his private plane disappeared from radar and was not found during a frantic 19-hour search, authorities said.
George Baker III, 66, was flying to meet his wife at their Nantucket home Thursday evening when air traffic controllers lost contact with his plane about 2 1/2 miles from the islands landing strip.
Baker is the latest victim of several mysterious crashes in and around Cape Cod and the Islands in recent years. Three other small planes have crashed in the region this year alone.
U.S. Coast Guard officials called off their search for Baker about 1:10 p.m. yesterday after finding no sign of him or his plane.
Baker was a remarkable man and this is a great tragedy, said Donella Rapier, vice president of alumni affairs and development for Harvard University. He was very generous with his time and his advice. This is very sad news.
Nantucket police found a First Aid kit, a bottle of aviation lubricant and a couple pieces of plastic near Nobadeer Beach, but no other debris was immediately discovered. Police planned to resume their search today.
Baker, whose great-grandfather donated $5 million to help build the Harvard School of Business in 1924, was retired from a New York investment firm he co-founded and was working as senior trustee for the George F. Baker Trust.
Bakers family was gathered at their Nantucket home yesterday while Coast Guard officials continued a fruitless search off the islands southern coast. A man who identified himself as Bakers son said the family did not wish to comment.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said Baker, who had nearly 40 years experience as a pilot, was flying at 200 feet about 2miles from the airport when contact with his airplane was lost. There were no severe weather problems reported in the area and Baker never indicated he was in distress.
News of Bakers apparent death yesterday devastated friends and academic associates at Harvard University, where a library and the the graduate school of business administration are named after his great-grandfather, who founded the First National Bank of New York that would become a cornerstone of Citibank.
He was a very generous donor and a good friend of the business school and of the last three deans, Harvard spokesman Jim Aisner said.
There's no more mystery here than in Junior's case.
Single pilot IFR is a fool's game and, sooner or later, it bites you.
Are they planning a Ricardo Montalban show "Philanthropist island"?
Four philanthropists in one year? That's pretty spooky!
The new Devil's Traingle with the Kennedy compound at its apex.
Twilight Zone music ...
I was thinking it could be a plot by the estate trustees!
I there were an offshore wind farm in operation nearby with FAA lighting these accidents could be reduced.
I'd bet heart attack, stroke or seizure.
It's called controlled flight into terrain and it happens all the time.
Only happens to you once, though.
No. No ILS has its decision height two miles from the runway. And single pilot IFR is standard for many of us. Junior bought it by flying into IFR at night in a complex single.
re: Junior bought it by flying into IFR at night in a complex single.
If memory serves me correctly Junior wasn't instrument rated, an even more common situation for low time, VFR pilots.
My point is that accidents aren't happening at ACK to aircraft in crew environments.
Single pilot IFR is commonplace and is dangerous. Single pilots easily become over tasked and performance deteriotes very quickly. CFIT is not just a single pilot problem, but single pilots are at markedly higher risk of flying into the ground.
The advent of GPS and EFIS in the single pilot environment, in my opinion, has worsened the situation by increasing, not decreasing, pilot workload.
Yep, there is some big money involved there. Cui bono?
"The new Devil's Traingle with the Kennedy compound at its apex."
Now, that would make sense....
I expect most of these incidents are simply pilot error, but this latest one seems kind of weird. I expect his estate will be interesting. (Sorry, professional curiousity ... not our business of course!)
I also heard that junior logged more than 100 hrs prior to his private check ride.
Spooky enough to make me stop any further donations..... especially to the Harvard Business School!
You are likely to be correct.
LOL!
This guy, with his 40 years flight experience and good weather, could be a suicide. Or just got careless, as even the most experienced pilots do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.