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The Florida Commuter Airlines crash into the Atlantic Ocean near West End Settlement on Grand Bahama Island occurred on September 12, 1980. The Douglas DC-3 departed West Palm Beach, FL at 20:35 and crashed at about 20:58 leaving no survivors. The plane was not recovered. The cause is undetermined, but factors include "known thunderstorm activities and turbulence, preexisting discrepancies in the pitot-static system of the aircraft and their effect on the reliability of the flight instruments, and lack of operational control exercised by the airline's management." The originally scheduled pilot was unable to fly and the replacement pilot informed flight operations for Florida Commuter Airlines that he could not fly "14 Code of Federal Regulations 135 flights since he was overdue for a 6-month instrument check. The Director of Operations assured the replacement pilot that the flight was to be conducted under 14 CFR 91 and that, for that reason, he was not required to have a current 6-month instrument check. The pilot then agreed to fly a Part 91 flight."[1] Takeoff was initially aborted due to no airspeed indication. Passengers were deplaned. Maintenance determined that the tube ram air openings were covered by mud dauber nests. The nests were cleared and a high speed taxi run verified the fix. Passengers reboarded and the plane was able to take off. At 22:43 a United States Coast Guard C-131 reached the area and spotted debris and bodies floating in the water. There were heavy thunderstorms in the area. 16 bodies were recovered prior to the termination of the search on September 15, 1980. The aircraft was never located.
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