KINGSTON (Jamaica), Sept 6: Shadowed by two US fighter jets, a small plane with its windows frosted over and its pilot apparently incapacitated flew a ghostly 1,700-mile journey down the Atlantic Coast and beyond before finally crashing in the waters off Jamaica. The fate of the two or more people aboard was not immediately known.
Maj Basil Jarrett of the Jamaican Defense Force said the plane went down about 22 kilometres northeast of the northern coastal town of Port Antonio and the military sent two aircraft and a dive team to investigate the area where the plane went down.
A US C-130 aircraft is also flying over the crash site and a US Coast Guard cutter is on the way, according to Guard Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios.
“None of us have found anything at this time,” Rios said. The single-engine turboprop Socata TBM700, which took off at 8:45 am EDT from the Greater Rochester International Airport in New York yesterday, was carrying a prominent real estate developer and his wife, the couple’s son said.
Rick Glazer said that his parents, Larry and Jane Glazer, were both licensed pilots. He said he can’t confirm they were killed, adding that “we know so little.”
Larry Glazer ran the development firm Buckingham Properties. He owned the high performance plane he was flying and was president of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association and active in Rochester civic affairs.
Public officials who knew the Glazers issued condolence messages centered on their role helping revitalize Rochester.
“The Glazers were innovative and generous people who were committed to revitalizing downtown Rochester and making the city they loved a better place for all,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “I offer my deepest condolences to the Glazers’ family and friends during this difficult and trying time.”
Air traffic controllers were last able to contact the pilot of the plane at 10 am EDT, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The agency said it had not confirmed the number of people aboard. (AGENCIES)
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