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FAA may check all seaplanes like one that crashed

MIAMI - The Federal Aviation Administration issued a bulletin Friday indicating it might order inspections of all seaplanes like the one that crashed Monday, killing all 20 people aboard.

Although the exact cause of the crash has not been determined, the FAA bulletin said its preliminary investigation revealed stress fractures in the 58-year-old Grumman G-73 Turbine Mallard seaplane's right wing support. The plane crashed after the wing separated from the fuselage.

"FAA is considering the need for mandatory detailed inspections of parts or all of the wing structure on the fleet of G-73 airplanes," the bulletin said. "If FAA determines that the accident airplane wing's preseparation condition is potentially manifest in other G-73 airplanes, the FAA will take appropriate action."

The plane that crashed just off Miami Beach en route to Bimini in the Bahamas was operated by Chalk's Ocean Airways, which voluntarily grounded its four other G-73s after the fractures were discovered by the National Transportation Safety Board.

About 25 other Grumman G-73 seaplanes are in operation, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. Only Chalk's operates the 1940s-era aircraft commercially.

Meanwhile, Miami-Dade's Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that a body found floating Friday morning in the Atlantic Ocean was that of the missing 20th victim on the Chalk's plane.

A boater found the body about 9 miles south of the crash site. It proved to be that of Sergio Danguillecourt, 42, a member of the board of directors of distiller Bacardi Ltd. in Miami. The Fisher Island resident's wife, Jacqueline Kriz Danguillecourt, was on the doomed plane.

[Last modified December 24, 2005, 01:09:13]