MIAMI (ENN) - The recovery effort and the investigation of what caused ValuJet Flight 592 to crash into the Florida Everglades continued on Monday. It was reported that no bodies were recovered and only a small part of the plane were recovered all day on Sunday.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) vice-chairman Robert Francis said on Sunday, "We're going to have to be prepared for the fact that this may take some time."
Experts are being called in to think of ideas on how the investigation into the inky swamp should proceed. Officials from the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Navy, NTSB, state and local agencies are said to not even be close to a consensus on what to do. One of the better ideas, even though it would be difficult, would be to dike off the crash site and then drain it.
Police sources said on Sunday that some body parts were found, but federal officials said that they were not aware of that. Navy divers have been brought into the area to aid in the search. It seems like the Everglades literally swallowed the plane. Visibility in the water is measured in inches. An NTSB investigator said, "They're down to less than an inch as far as underwater visibility. A lot of it is being done by feel."
The depth of the water ranges from 6-inches to 5-feet, but underneath the water is muck that may be as deep as 30- to 40-feet. Navy experts in underwater salvage recovery are bringing in sonar equipment to help with the search.
NTSB investigators, who have experience in investigating hundreds of plane crashes say that this is "the most difficult scene that they have ever encountered." The crash site is very inaccessible, far from any road and can only be reached by helicopter or airboat.