189 passengers and crew members of a jetliner that had just taken off from a Dominican Republican airport were feared killed on Tuesday night when the plane apparently plunged into the Atlantic Ocean. The charter flight was bound for Frankfort, Germany via Newfoundland, Canada.
Only small pieces of the plane were seen floating in the water by rescuers. Only about a dozen bodies had been recovered before dawn. The wreckage is said to be strewn across a two-mile long stretch of the ocean. Sharks were seen in the area of the crash and it appeared that some of the recovered bodies had been mangled by the sharks. An officer for the United States Coast Guard, who was involved in the recovery, said, "The area is shark-infested. It obviously would hamper recovery of either survivors or bodies from the water."
The plane disappeared from radar screens about five minutes after taking off from the airport in Puerto Plata. The plane took-off at 2343 EST during a light rainshower. The deputy director for civil aeronautics in the Dominican Republic said, "The pilot gave no indication of an emergency." A conflicting report said that the pilot had indicated a problem of unknown origin prior to the crash and was attempting to return to the field. The jetliner was reportedly able to gain an altitude of 5,000 feet and was 12 miles off the coast of the Dominican Republic when it disappeared from radar screens.
United States Coast Guard ships and planes were sent to the scene of the crash to assist in the rescue/recovery. A Coast Guard petty officer said, "We found a wreckage field of about 50 to 100 yards wide and two miles long, and very small pieces floating on the water. There are no large pieces of the plane to be seen." No cause of the crash has been determined, but an investigation has been begun. As of mid-day Wednesday, the bodies of 79 victims had been recovered.