Chalk Airways Crah

[Ari707]

I just heard on the radio a Chalk Airways seaplane crashed off of Miami it seems that there were no survivors

[Ari707]

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Nineteen bodies were recovered after a seaplane crashed Monday off Miami Beach, said Coast Guard Capt. James Mays.

Twenty people were aboard the plane, he said. "We are still diving on the wreckage," he added.

The Grumman G-73 airplane crashed upon takeoff from Miami for the island of Bimini in the Bahamas.

"There are no survivors at this point," a spokesman for the mayor of Miami told reporters.

The crash, which happened around 2:30 p.m., prompted a massive search and rescue operation involving the fire department, Coast Guard and other emergency departments.

Three Coast Guard search vessels, aided by private boats, searched the waters. Television footage taken from the air showed divers in the water, with the submerged plane partially visible and part of the wreckage on a nearby rock jetty. (Map)

"This is a tragic event," Coast Guard Petty Officer Dana Warr told CNN. "We just have countless people scouring the area for any survivors."

Chalks Ocean Airways said its plane had been carrying 20 people: two pilots and 18 passengers, including three infants. The plane takes off and leaves from the water. (Watch video of rescue operation -- 5:51)

Chalks' General Manager and Director of Operations Roger Nair told reporters the crash of Flight 101 was the company's first involving passengers since it was founded in 1919.

"We are a close-knit, family airline, and most of our passengers have been our customers for an extended period of time," he said. (Airline history)

National Transportation Safety Board records confirmed that the airline had never had a fatal accident before Monday.

The Port of Miami was shut down immediately after the crash, and some cruise liners were diverted from the area so they would not interfere with the rescue operation, Warr said.

Warr said he saw the plane take off from his base.

"I didn't think anything of it. I had seen this aircraft take off and land numerous times," he said.

But then, he said, "I saw a dark, black plume of smoke, and then immediately after, the search-and-rescue alarm went off here on the base."

He said he didn't hear any loud noises or anything out of the ordinary at the time of the crash.

"It really gives me chills to know that I saw this aircraft, and to think that everything was OK. And just seconds later, Coast Guard personnel are responding to this tragic event," he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team of investigators to Miami to begin looking into the crash. The NTSB announced that senior air safety investigator William English will lead a 14-member team to Miami.

The team was expected to arrive in the area Monday night.

A spokeswoman for the FBI's Miami office said two agents have been sent to the site, but that there was no evidence of foul play.

"That's just normal," said Judy Orihuela.

The water temperature is about 73 degrees and is "very survivable," said CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers.

One woman at the scene said she saw the plane flying "pretty low" and "a little bit loud," when, "all of a sudden, we just heard it blow up."

"I saw two pieces, and it went down into the water," she said.

Another witness also reported seeing an explosion.

"I seen a plane coming through Government Cut, make a left-hand turn," the man said, referring to the entrance to Miami Harbor. "The wing came off. It exploded."

But Robert Francis, the former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, urged that witness statements be interpreted with caution.

"I'd be very careful about witness statements," he told CNN. "When somebody talks about an explosion or black smoke, it may or may not turn out to be significant."

According to Jon Regasm, a retired commercial pilot, the seaplanes were built in the late 1940s and are equipped with floats at the end of the wings that stabilize the plane.

He said the witness' claim that the wing detached may prove telling, adding that the floats are vulnerable to getting caught on submerged debris upon takeoff and landing.

"If that really did happen, there may have been a structural failure," he said

[davezilla]

i saw the video today and it look real bad! :(

[Ari707]

I heard they found cracks in the wing

[PhilDernerJr]

How do they know the cracks were there before the crash?

[Max10803]

Last I heard was that when they went diving and retrieved the wing, they took a good look inside it. And they saw a crack that went through a long part of it. So supposedly now theyre looking at maintenance records to see if they accidently missed it.

[Ari707]

Chalk has grounded its whole fleet bending inspections

[Tom_Turner]

Chalk has grounded its whole fleet bending inspections

Does Chalks have more one aircraft left at this point?