My initial question is, "What, short of an in-flight break-up would cause a 1/2 mile debris field for an aircraft this small 2 die as single-engine plane crashes near Key West
Associated Press
November 5, 2004, 7:51 AM EST
KEY WEST – A single-engine plane bound for Sarasota crashed into the ocean just minutes after taking off, killing both people on board, authorities said.
The four-seat TB-20 Trinidad left Key West International Airport Thursday evening. But shortly after takeoff, the pilot made a distress call asking to return because of an unspecified problem, said U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Ryan Doss.
The plane ``dropped off the radar’’ as it flew back to the airport, Doss said, and officials received reports of what looked like flares over the water at about the same time.
Authorities found a half-mile long debris field about four miles south of Key West. Divers planned to continue searching the area Friday.
Could the 1/2 mile debris field be from debris drifting in moving current. Of course it’s hard to speculate, but I’ll bet a BRS would have been a godsend in exactly this type of incident/accident.
Wind, CURRENT & WAVES. The wind and waves will move the debris at different speeds. the current will move the debris away from the sunken wreckage. As more items float over time, the deris field spreads out. This is why SAR patterns are dependant upon the time in the water, the wind and the currents.
Take the BRS anyday in light airplanes! Actually, the “flares over the water” sounds like an inflight fire and subsequent breakup. Would have been nice to shut er down and pull the handle!