The two people who died on Friday when their plane crashed on its way to Eleuthera have been identified as husband and wife Ward and Barbara Walter of Plainwell, Michigan.
Mr Walter, 66, was flying the aircraft, a Mitsubishi MU-2 turboprop, when it crashed near Ormond Beach, Florida. His wife was 64 years old.
The couple had reportedly left Ohio’s Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport just before 9am Friday. They made a stop in Bloomington, Indiana and departed before 10am, crashing after 1pm. They had planned to stop in Melbourne, Florida before landing in Eleuthera, where they had a vacation home.
“[Mr] Walter was a highly ethical man, guided by his faith and much beloved by his family, friends and employees alike,” according to a press release on the website of Drug and Laboratory Disposal Inc., a company he founded and of which he was president. “He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.”
Though it was unclear what caused the accident, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials said weather could have been a factor. The Walters reportedly experienced difficulties around 1:15 pm.
According to media reports, the FAA has, on several occasions in the past, conducted safety evaluations of the MU-2, the type of plane involved in the crash.
The MU-2 is said to have an accident rate twice that of similar aircraft, with fatal accidents involving loss of control in emergencies being seven times more likely.
Officials from the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America Inc. had joined the investigators from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board at the site of the crash, the Associated Press reported.
The Civil Aviation Department, when contacted yesterday, did not disclose the airport where the Walters had planned to land. The couple has left behind four children and nine grandchildren.
By: RAYMOND KONGWA, Nassau Guardian Senior Reporter
