Florida Commuter Airlines Crash

Florida Commuter Airlines Crash

The Florida Commuter Airlines Flight 65 crash into the Atlantic Ocean near West End Settlement on Grand Bahama Island occurred on September 12, 1980. The Douglas DC-3A departed West Palm Beach, FL at 20:35 and crashed at about 20:58 leaving no survivors. The plane was not recovered. The cause is undetermined, but factors include "known thunderstorm activities and turbulence, preexisting discrepancies in the pitot-static system of the aircraft and their effect on the reliability of the flight instruments, and lack of operational control exercised by the airline's management." The originally scheduled pilot was unable to fly and the replacement pilot informed flight operations for Florida Commuter Airlines that he could not fly "14 CFR 135 flights since he was overdue for a 6-month instrument check. The Director of Operations assured the replacement pilot that the flight was to be conducted under 14 CFR 91 and that, for that reason, he was not required to have a current 6-month instrument check. The pilot then agreed to fly a Part 91 flight."

Takeoff was initially aborted due to no airspeed indication. Passengers were deplaned. Maintenance determined that the tube ram air openings were covered by mud dauber nests. The nests were cleared and a high speed taxi run verified the fix. Passengers reboarded and the plane was able to take off. At 20:58 the pilot radioed Freeport Airport control tower that he was prepared to land. That was the last communication from the plane. The plane had no radar and no way to know how bad the weather was ahead of them. The control tower tried to radio the plane at 21:15, but received no response. At 22:43 a United States Coast Guard C-131 reached the area and spotted debris and bodies floating in the water. There were heavy thunderstorms in the area. 16 bodies were recovered prior to the termination of the search on September 15, 1980. There were initial reports that some of the bodies were wearing life jackets, but later reports from the US Coast Guard indicated none of the recovered passengers were wearing life jackets. The aircraft was never located. There were reports of sabotage which were investigated. However, On page (13) of the Aircraft Accident Report, the NTSB noted "Sabotage, or foul play, has been discounted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has not been considered in this evaluation".

Eyewitness accounts state that the plane was flying low and plunged into the ocean shortly after passing through a cloud.

The flight was a promotional flight for the airline with tickets selling for $20 each just to cover expenses. The stay in Freeport was supposed to be six hours so the passengers could gamble and return quickly. The flight was due back at 02:00. All but two of the passengers were residents of Palm Beach County.