Posted on 10/01/2001 10:16:46 PM PDT by itwasntme
Government Plane Missing Near the Bahamas The Associated Press Published: Oct 1, 2001 MIAMI (AP) - A two-seat State Department plane bound for a Florida air force base from islands near the Bahamas was missing late Monday, officials said.
The last contact with the plane was at 10:20 a.m. Monday, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. It departed from Turks and Caicos Islands southeast of the Bahamas and was destined for Patrick Air Force Base in Melbourne on Florida's east coast.
Coast Guard and Air Force planes were searching an area 50 miles southeast of Freeport, Bahamas late Monday, said Petty Officer Robert Suddarth, Coast Guard spokesman. Pilots that returned from searching this afternoon reported poor weather and visibility, he said.
Bergen said the aircraft is an Ayers AY-65, which is an agricultural or "crop-dusting type of aircraft," and owned by the State Department.
Only the pilot, a 20-year veteran of the State Department, was aboard the plane, Suddarth said. Suddarth and Bergen did not release the name of the pilot.
They also said they did not know of any connection to the recent terrorist hijackings.
AP-ES-10-01-01 2311EDT
Try: half of congress.
Sabotage?
Petty Officer Robert Suddarth said the pilot might have been looking for a spot to land because of bad weather conditions.
Pittman said she also was briefed that there might have been problems with the weather.
Ummmm...just hearing about this now. This looks like cause for concern.
Where is the pilot..? Was this hijacked also..?
This SHOULD be breaking news.
Believe me the FAA like to use PR and downplay things from personal experience so if they are saying this much...
Nope. Bermuda Triangle ...
[Key Twilight Zone theme]
State Department buys them under the foreign aid programme and flies them to the Andean Ridge nations (Colombia, also Peru and Ecuador) for the locals to use in spraying to eradicate coca crops.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
It's powered by a turboprop engine -- a PT-6 made by P&W of Canada and used in a lot of commuter liners. Turboprops are generally less efficient at low altitudes, but they have a power to weight ratio that nothing else can match.
Piston powered versions are available (or were -- Ayres is bankrupt) but the government always flies first class.
And no, it's not illegal to buy and sell these planes although the wannabee flatfeet at the FAA keep mismanaging the ag aviation business.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Is there any update/follow-up on this story?
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