Plane crashes off Belize City coast
The weekend’s string of tragedies continued on Monday when Belizeans were shaken from their holiday mood by news of a plane crash off the coast of Belize City. Fortunately, however, the only casualty in the accident, was mechanical.
Twenty four hours after it crashed into the choppy waters off Hicks Caye, a part of the plane’s tail is still visible. The single engine aircraft belonging to the air ambulance company Wings of Hope, is based in Guatemala and was on its way back, when it went dropped from the sky. According to the pilot, forty one year old Daniel Cretch, he had just taken off from San Pedro, Ambergis Caye and was on his way to the International Airport, when fifteen minutes into the flight, the plane started shaking violently.
Daniel Cretch, Pilot
“One of the propeller?s blades came off, broke off just outside of the hub. The whole propeller blade separated caused real severe vibrations and I’m really lucky, in respect that usually the whole motor comes out of the airplane, when that happens and the motor stayed inside this time, so we were able to continue glide the airplane.”
Cretch, the only person aboard, said he knew he was going to crash. Knowing he had fuel onboard, to avoid an explosion on impact, he turned off the plane’s engine and desperately tried to make an emergency landing.
Daniel Cretch
“Just try to find a safest place to put the airplane down. I saw the houses over at the little fishing camp. I wasn’t sure if anybody was there, but I thought that was probably the best option and put the airplane as close to shore as I could.”
Standing on shore at the fishing camp, on the northern end of Hicks Caye was Nelson Flowers, the camp’s caretaker. Flowers says he was along with his boss and family, when they heard the stutter of a plane’s engine and looked up.
Nelson Flowers, Witness
“We heard the noise coming down. We usually find airplanes coming on that side or this side, but actually he’s coming from direct that side, coming very low right. So the crowd that was there, ran out and by this time, it done went down this side already and I holler it went down!”
But instead of breaking up into parts, the plane remained intact. It floated for a couple of minutes, before quickly sinking below ….. but not before the pilot luckily managed to climb on top of the wing.
J. W.
“Looking at you now Daniel and looking at where that plane is, you are lucky to be alive!”
Daniel Cretch
“I think so. Airplanes are really pretty safe, little airplanes are pretty slow.”
Nelson Flowers
“When we got there, he was already on top of the plane, right, so we just land the boat against him, the plane and just brought him onboard and bring him onshore. So we bring him back and gave him some coffee and try to see if anyway bruise up, cause he was shaking, right and so happens we gave him, he hang out a little while and planes start to circle, so we just gave him the go round, that he is just safe right here.”
Cretch said it was the best cup of coffee he has ever had. He believes one of the reasons he is alive today, is because of the extra security measures, Wings of Hope take.
Daniel Cretch
“We modify the airplanes. It?s actually better than from the factory. We have three point shoulder harnesses which kept me from putting my face in the panel. The airplane stopped very abruptly, so I was glad to have the extra good seatbelts, and my body is a little bit sore, but I didn’t get a scratch, no bruises or anything.”
When we traveled out to the crash site, through the courtesy of the fisheries department, we came upon Cretch and a team of three divers working to bring up the sunken aircraft.
Daniel Cretch
“We are just trying to get it off the bottom. It sunk about three feet of mud. So we are trying to get it up off the bottom, so it will float and then we want to take it over to San Pedro and start restoring it. Trying to get it back in shape.
We have to be really careful, cause it?s in saltwater and the saltwater corrodes the aluminum really fast. So we need to get it in freshwater. We will dissemble it and make big tanks and put in freshwater and try to rinse it off.”
It is expected that once the plane is brought in, the plane’s engineers will examine the damaged propeller and find out what could have possibly made the blade come off.
Viewers should note that the Wings of Hope plane that crashed is one which was visiting from Guatemala and not the air ambulance regularly based here. That aircraft is still on duty, headquartered at San Pedro.
