20th body found by fishermen after fatal seaplane crash: Bacardi heir Sergio Danguillecourt
Hoodoo
KNIGHT RIDDER
Tucson, Arizona
12.24.2005
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/108447
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Two Miami-Dade firefighters fishing on their day
off Friday found the body of the 20th victim of Monday's fatal
seaplane crash.
Twenty people were killed when Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101
plunged into the water off Miami Beach Monday, but only 19 were
recovered that day.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office positively identified the
dead man, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Miami Beach police said the
missing passenger was Sergio Danguillecourt, 42, of Miami, a former
Bacardi Limited executive and great-great grandson of the company's
founder. His wife, Jacqueline Kriz Danguillecourt, was traveling with
him and also died.
Capt. Frank Leavitt said he and co-worker Andrea Sweetman spotted the
body at around 9:30 a.m. about 3 miles off Key Biscayne.
"It looked like it had been out there for days," said Leavitt. "In our
line of work, we deal with a lot of tragedy and we see a lot of
bodies, but coming up on one like this, finding one like this, it is
something that has really affected us."
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it is
considering issuing mandatory inspections of all G-73 airplanes,
commonly known as Grumman G-73s or G-73Ts, the same type of craft as
the Chalk's seaplane.
In issuing a special safety bulletin for all G-73 owners, the FAA
cited initial reports that the Chalk's plane may have gone down
because of fatigue on a wing spar. The bulletin said the FAA is
monitoring the investigation and could issue mandatory inspections
depending on the outcome.
FAA officials said there are only 25 to 30 such planes in the FAA
database, including the remaining four owned by Chalk's, which are the
only ones operating commercially. It is hard to tell how many planes
in the database are the same model as the Chalk's aircraft, said
spokeswoman Laura Brown. That is because the old registration forms
were hard to read or the model was not recorded, she said.
Three of the planes operate overseas, two in the Cayman Islands and
one in Australia. None of those are operated by Chalk's.
More than 50 family members attended a memorial dinner Friday night at
a restaurant in Miami Beach.
PirateJohn
was (one of the newsgroup participants had friends that worked for
Chalk's and was concerned) Yours Truly posted the following list of the
dead:
The pilot was a lady named Michelle Marks, who was married to a well
known "zoologist and research biologist who works with white sharks."
The co-pilot wasPaul Joseph DeSanctis of Reading, Pa.
Sergio Danguillecourt, a board member of Bacardi Ltd. and the
great-great-grandson of the company's founder, was the last body
recovered. From the Miami paper: "Danguillecourt, who lived on Fisher
Island, was on his way to Bimini with his wife to buy a 68-foot motor
yacht. Jacqueline Danguillecourt also died in the crash."
· Jacqueline Danguillecourt of Fisher Island, Sergio's wife.
· Eric Johansen of Stuart, textbook sales representative and former
teacher, administrator and coach at Monsignor Edward Pace High School;
was on a fishing trip with relatives.
· Lawrence Johansen Jr. of Palm Beach Gardens, president of Signature
Verification Systems and father of Eric Johansen.
· Marlin Nachtigal of Winton, Calif., engineer for SBC Communications
and father-in-law of Eric Johansen.
· Richard Michael Rutecky of Hollywood, salesman for chemical
company; was on vacation trip to the Bahamas.
· Jacqueline Stuart-Levarity of Bimini, owner of a souvenir shop;
returning from a Christmas shopping trip.
· Niesha Fox of Bimini, Stuart-Levarity's teenage daughter, who was
about to enroll in the College of the Bahamas.
· Genevieve Ellis of Bimini, maintenance worker on island; was
returning from her niece's college graduation in Atlanta.
· Salome Rolle of Bimini, maintenance worker on island; sister of
Ellis.
· Donald P. Smith of Bimini, longtime dock master at Big Game Marina;
was returning from granddaughter's graduation from Florida State
University.
· Jervis Stuart of Bimini, Smith's 15-month-old grandson.
· Sabrena Dean of Bimini, telephone company employee and niece of
Stuart-Levarity; returning from a Christmas shopping trip.
· Barto G. Dean of Bimini, hardware store employee; husband of
Sabrena.
· Sabre'a Dean of Bimini, the Deans' 4-month-old daughter.
· Sophia Sherman of Bimini, preschool teacher; returning from
Christmas shopping trip.
· Bethany Sherman of Bimini, Sophia's 1-year-old daughter.
· Carolyn Burke of Bimini, U.S. citizen and artist who owned a
pottery shop.
RIP