Plane crashes in ocean, killing at least 19 aboard

Terrorism doesn't appear to be a factor, though the FBI is looking at the crash.
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A propeller-driven seaplane carrying 20 people crashed just off Miami Beach within sight of the city's high-rises Monday, killing at least 19 of those aboard, authorities said. Witnesses said the plane exploded in flames as it came down, and the FBI joined the investigation.
Scuba divers and rescuers in speedboats struggled to reach the victims, but as evening fell, they found no sign that anyone survived.
The Chalk's Ocean Airways plane -- a twin-engine Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard -- went down around 2:30 p.m. after taking off from Miami for the island of Bimini in the Bahamas, the Federal Aviation Administration said. It hit the water within sight of the beach.
The Coast Guard said 19 bodies were found. The World War II-era plane was carrying two crew members and 18 passengers, including three infants, authorities said.
No apparent terrorism
Because of the witness reports of an explosion, the FBI sent agents to assist in the investigation, but there was no immediate indication of terrorism or sabotage, said Judy Orihuela, spokeswoman for the FBI's Miami field office.
"It's too soon to say whether we are going to get involved," Orihuela said. "We're just going to check it out."
With many schools closed in advance of the holidays and Christmas week traditionally one of the biggest times of the year for tourism, the beach was relatively busy, and dozens of beachgoers saw the plane go down. Dozens more gathered to watch the rescue.
As Coast Guard helicopters hovered over the crash site, some surfers remained in the water, only a few hundred feet away. Some used their boards to rush toward the spot where the plane went down.
Witness accounts
Sandy Rodriguez, 14, said he saw the plane flying low with white smoke trailing from it and flames coming from the bottom. The right wing then fell off as the plane went down, he said.
"It exploded in the air and one of the wings flew out of there. The other part of the plane was on fire and it just went straight down," said Maurice D'Giovianni, 42, a surfer who was in the water at the time.
Coast Guard spokesman Dana Warr also saw the crash from the Coast Guard office on an island in a channel known as Government Cut that cruise ships and freighters take past South Beach into the Port of Miami.
"Everything looked normal; I saw the aircraft take off like it does every other time. I didn't think anything of it when I saw the black smoke from the pier, until I then heard the Coast Guard alarms go off," he said.
Coast Guard Capt. James Maes said the main part of the fuselage was submerged in about 35 feet of water that is subject to strong tidal currents because of the narrow ship channel. Divers were continuing to search after dark for the final victim.
Ship traffic in and out of the port will be suspended indefinitely, Maes added, including three large cruise ships that had been scheduled to depart Monday afternoon.
The National Transportation Safety Board also sent a team to investigate.
The skies were cloudy, but there was no rain or lightning in the area at the time of the crash.
Family members briefed
Bahamian Prime Minister Perry G. Christie said the country's consul general in Miami had already met some family members at the scene of the accident. The statement did not say how many Bahamians were among the victims.
"The nation wishes to express its deepest condolences to the people of Bimini on their apparent loss," Christie said in a statement.
Coast Guard crews and emergency workers wearing protective suits hauled bodies up from rescue boats, rushing to find victims before darkness fell.
Law enforcement speedboats, divers and helicopters took part in the search and were joined by others in private boats, on personal watercraft and on surfboards.
The plane was built in 1947 and had some previous mechanical trouble, according to FAA records. In February 1984, the elevator trim tab, which controls pitch, failed and caused the steering column to shake. In April of that year, the landing gear failed to retract, and investigators found the nose gear assembly was overstressed.
Chalk's Ocean Airways flies between Miami and the Bahamas, using planes that take off and land on the water.
Chalk's aircraft have been featured in TV shows such as "Miami Vice." Its seaplanes take off in view of the port and the multimillion-dollar homes that dot islands in the bay.
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