Bahamas AW139 Crash Kills Seven
A
Leonardo AW139 crash early on the morning of July 4 has killed American coal
billionaire Chris Cline and six others, including the operator of a popular
West Palm Beach, Florida helicopter school, Geoff Painter. The 2008 model year
AW139, N32CC, went down in what is being described as black hole conditions
shortly after taking off from Cline’s private island of Big Grand Cay shortly
at 12:45 a.m. local time for a 117-nm flight to Fort Lauderdale. However, the
helicopter was not reported missing for 14 hours.
The
wreckage was recovered in 16 feet of water approximately two miles from shore.
The helicopter’s retractable landing gear remained extended. Photos of the
wreckage show tail boom separation, the cabin section laying inverted on the
seabed, and significant impact damage to the remaining fuselage.
Painter,
52, was a former RAF pilot with approximately 13,000 hours of flight time
and the operator of Cloud 9 Helicopters based at the North County airport in
West Palm Beach. He held an airline transport pilot rating for helicopters. A
second pilot aboard, David Jude, 57, was employed by Cline. Both pilots were
type-rated in the AW139 and held instrument ratings. The Bahamas Air
Accident Investigation Division, Department of Civil Aviation, the Royal Bahamas
Police, and the Defense Force are investigating, along with technical
assistance from the FAA, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB), and
Leonardo.
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