AMBERGRIS CAYE, Belize (30 Dec 2002) -- Eight Houston-area residents survived a plane crash in the Caribbean Sea by clinging for 90 minutes to fuselage during a driving rainstorm. Everyone aboard the 14-seat Cessna Caravan survived the impact Friday with only minor injuries. The Tropic Air flight from Belize City to San Pedro went down 2.5 miles south of Ambergris Caye, a resort island in the Caribbean Sea popular with American vacationers. Lance Dreyer, 62, and wife, Sharon, 56, of Houston were aboard the plane with two of their children, Chase, 25, and Chelsea, 22. The family said couples from Sugar Land and The Woodlands were also on the flight, though but their names were not available Sunday evening. The Dreyers were en route Friday to San Pedro for a five-day New Year's vacation, returning to the island for the sixth time in seven years to "just lay out on the beach, go fishing and snorkeling or scuba diving." They have flown Tropic Air, a Belizean airline founded in 1979 by a Texas A&M graduate, each time for the 15-minute hop from Belize City. All prior flights were uneventful, they said. It was dark and raining as the plane took off for San Pedro. Lance Dreyer, a former pilot, said the plane started weaving about 10 minutes out. "I became concerned because the pilot is looking out the window," he said. "At night in a rainstorm, you watch your instruments, you don't look out the window. "He started wiggling around. He was looking out the window and then with no warning, he didn't cut back on the power or anything, he hit (the water)." As dust and smoke filled the cabin, Lance Dreyer opened the rear door. "Water just went whoosh into the plane," he said. "Everybody was screaming. I got out of the plane and started pushing everyone up on top." | | Once on top of the fuselage, the passengers could see the lights of San Pedro in the distance. After ensuring everyone was out of the plane, Lance Dreyer dove down and quickly reached the bottom, where the aircraft was lodged in the sand. "We kind of all laughed about it," he said. "At that point we knew: a) we survived the crash, b) the plane ain't going to sink any further, and c) the worst thing that's going to happen to us is we'll sit here all night but at least we're going to live." One man from The Woodlands happened to have a radio and global-positioning system and radioed for help. Rescue boats arrived about 30 minutes later and took everyone to San Pedro. The Dreyers lost most of their money and other carry-on items but would later discover a lucky break: Their luggage failed to make the flight and was still in Belize City. They spent Friday night in San Pedro, then returned home. G. Michael Reid, Belize Police Department spokesman, said his country's Transportation Ministry is investigating the incident, which he described as "an emergency landing." Dreyer family members, in an interview Sunday evening in their Houston home, said they are concerned Tropic Air provided no safety briefing during the flight and that the pilot did nothing to help pull passengers to safety. The family said it hasn't decided whether to pursue legal action against the airline. There was no answer Sunday evening at Tropic Air's U.S. reservations number or its office in San Pedro. SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
