Skip Miller
Final Approach
GROTON, Conn. (1010 WINS) -- Two people have died after a plane owned by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson went down in heavy fog Friday, a state police spokesman said. Robertson was not aboard.
Their bodies were recovered from Long Island Sound and were being taken to the Coast Guard station in New London.
Three other people who had been in the Learjet 35 when it went down about a half-mile short of the runway at Groton-New London Airport were able to escape with minor injuries. They were pulled from the water and taken to Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London.
The plane is registered to Virginia-based Robertson Asset Management. The company is owned by Robertson and is separate from the Christian Broadcasting Network, spokeswoman Angell Vasko said.
She said Robertson was not on the plane and rents it out because he uses it infrequently.
``We're still trying to figure out who was on the plane,'' she said. ``It's not Dr. Robertson, or (anyone) related to CBN or related to Dr. Robertson's individual businesses.''
Coast Guard officials said the chartered, twin-engine plane took off from Norfolk, Va., about 12:30 p.m. Friday and stopped in Atlantic City, N.J., to drop off two passengers before heading to Connecticut.
Hospital spokesman William A. Stanley said the three wounded passengers had such minor injuries they were not expected to be admitted to the hospital.
``There's nothing about their conditions that outwardly appears serious enough to require them to be admitted, although they'll certainly be checked thoroughly before they're discharged,'' Stanley said.
The plane could hold 10 passengers and two crew members.
State Department of Transportation spokesman Chris Cooper said those on board were believed to be headed to a golf tournament at Foxwoods Resort Casino in nearby Mashantucket.
Police had no information about whether the pilots had been in touch with the airport before the incident and whether any weather-related or mechanical problems had been reported.
Cooper said the plane went down about 2:30 p.m. and the airport was closed about 10 minutes later.
Rachel Waszkelewicz lives right on the water and heard the crash.
``It was so loud I just knew instantly it was a plane,'' she said.
Waszkelewicz ran out of her house and onto her dock but said it was too foggy to see. So she called out to the lobstermen who said they thought it was a plane.
``Everybody jumped in their boats,'' she said. ``You could hear voices. I don't know if it was from the plane or if it was boaters yelling to them.''
Dick Sawyer, who lives in the neighborhood, said the plane crash sound like two boats colliding.
``You could barely see past your hand at the time,'' Sawyer said. Five minutes later, he said, ``the fog lifted just enough so you could see it out there.''
The area around the airport is known for fog
Endquote.
Sorry to report this! Here are the Groton METARs bracketing the estimated 14:30 (local) crash time:
GON 021845Z 19007KT 2SM BR BKN001 20/18 A2985 RMK AO2
KGON 021803Z 21006KT 2SM BR BKN001 21/19 A2985 RMK AO2
My first thought is that we have had very heavy rain showers frequently today: highway flooding and all that. But they were highly localized and the METARs say that wasn't it. Let's see what we find out in the coming days.
-Skip
Their bodies were recovered from Long Island Sound and were being taken to the Coast Guard station in New London.
Three other people who had been in the Learjet 35 when it went down about a half-mile short of the runway at Groton-New London Airport were able to escape with minor injuries. They were pulled from the water and taken to Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London.
The plane is registered to Virginia-based Robertson Asset Management. The company is owned by Robertson and is separate from the Christian Broadcasting Network, spokeswoman Angell Vasko said.
She said Robertson was not on the plane and rents it out because he uses it infrequently.
``We're still trying to figure out who was on the plane,'' she said. ``It's not Dr. Robertson, or (anyone) related to CBN or related to Dr. Robertson's individual businesses.''
Coast Guard officials said the chartered, twin-engine plane took off from Norfolk, Va., about 12:30 p.m. Friday and stopped in Atlantic City, N.J., to drop off two passengers before heading to Connecticut.
Hospital spokesman William A. Stanley said the three wounded passengers had such minor injuries they were not expected to be admitted to the hospital.
``There's nothing about their conditions that outwardly appears serious enough to require them to be admitted, although they'll certainly be checked thoroughly before they're discharged,'' Stanley said.
The plane could hold 10 passengers and two crew members.
State Department of Transportation spokesman Chris Cooper said those on board were believed to be headed to a golf tournament at Foxwoods Resort Casino in nearby Mashantucket.
Police had no information about whether the pilots had been in touch with the airport before the incident and whether any weather-related or mechanical problems had been reported.
Cooper said the plane went down about 2:30 p.m. and the airport was closed about 10 minutes later.
Rachel Waszkelewicz lives right on the water and heard the crash.
``It was so loud I just knew instantly it was a plane,'' she said.
Waszkelewicz ran out of her house and onto her dock but said it was too foggy to see. So she called out to the lobstermen who said they thought it was a plane.
``Everybody jumped in their boats,'' she said. ``You could hear voices. I don't know if it was from the plane or if it was boaters yelling to them.''
Dick Sawyer, who lives in the neighborhood, said the plane crash sound like two boats colliding.
``You could barely see past your hand at the time,'' Sawyer said. Five minutes later, he said, ``the fog lifted just enough so you could see it out there.''
The area around the airport is known for fog
Endquote.
Sorry to report this! Here are the Groton METARs bracketing the estimated 14:30 (local) crash time:
GON 021845Z 19007KT 2SM BR BKN001 20/18 A2985 RMK AO2
KGON 021803Z 21006KT 2SM BR BKN001 21/19 A2985 RMK AO2
My first thought is that we have had very heavy rain showers frequently today: highway flooding and all that. But they were highly localized and the METARs say that wasn't it. Let's see what we find out in the coming days.
-Skip