Pilot survives plunge into ocean for 2nd time in 2 years
By Jaime Hernandez
Staff Writer
Posted October 22 2004
[font=Verdana,Arial, Helvetica]A pilot who crashed a small plane off the Florida Keys last year escaped serious injury Thursday when he ditched a twin-engine airplane into the ocean 11 miles off Hillsboro Inlet, officials said.
Denis Guillermo Murphy, 49, of Sunrise, was flying a Piper Navajo Chieftain from Freeport, Bahamas, to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when the plane began experiencing mechanical trouble, Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration officials said. Murphy radioed air traffic controllers in Fort Lauderdale around 5:40 p.m. to tell them about the problem and that he was going to crash-land the plane.
The FAA notified the Coast Guard, which dispatched a surveillance jet to the area, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Anastasia Burns said. After the crash, Murphy put on a lifejacket and escaped the sinking plane with a flare gun, which he fired several times to attract the approaching Coast Guard jet.
The jet and a Broward Sheriff's Office helicopter circled over Murphy for several minutes until a Coast Guard helicopter arrived and pulled Murphy out of the sea, Burns said. Two small Coast Guard patrol boats were also on the scene.
Murphy was the only person aboard the Piper.
Coast Guard Lt. Michael Dean, the rescue helicopter's pilot, said the Piper had sunk when his crew arrived and that Murphy did not appear to be seriously injured.
"He was in good condition for what he had gone through," Dean said. "He was just tired of swimming."
The Coast Guard took Murphy to Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines. He was later moved to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where he was in stable condition late Thursday, Burns said.
Records show the Piper was owned by Twin Town Leasing Company Inc., in Fort Lauderdale. The company's owner, Clay Gamber, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The aircraft was one of seven Pipers that the company charters, records show. The plane that crashed Thursday was built in 1974.
On Feb. 20, 2003, Murphy suffered head and neck injuries when a plane he was flying to Miami International Airport from Havana crashed into the Gulf of Mexico about 10 miles southwest of Marathon. Murphy's plane for that flight, a twin-engine Cessna 402B, also experienced mechanical problems.
Murphy, a Cuban-born U.S. citizen, was returning from a charter flight to Cuba during that trip. Officials did not know why Murphy was returning from the Bahamas on Thursday.
Murphy's brother, Miguel Murphy, of Lauderdale Lakes, said Denis Murphy has a wife and daughter, and has been a pilot "for a long time."
Miguel Murphy said he often tries to get his brother to quit flying.
"It's not a very safe profession to do," Miguel Murphy said. "But he says when crashes happen, that mostly it's not the pilot's fault, that it's the airplane."
Staff researcher Bill Lucey contributed to this report.
Jaime Hernandez can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4631. [/font]
By Jaime Hernandez
Staff Writer
Posted October 22 2004
[font=Verdana,Arial, Helvetica]A pilot who crashed a small plane off the Florida Keys last year escaped serious injury Thursday when he ditched a twin-engine airplane into the ocean 11 miles off Hillsboro Inlet, officials said.
Denis Guillermo Murphy, 49, of Sunrise, was flying a Piper Navajo Chieftain from Freeport, Bahamas, to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when the plane began experiencing mechanical trouble, Coast Guard and Federal Aviation Administration officials said. Murphy radioed air traffic controllers in Fort Lauderdale around 5:40 p.m. to tell them about the problem and that he was going to crash-land the plane.
The FAA notified the Coast Guard, which dispatched a surveillance jet to the area, Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Anastasia Burns said. After the crash, Murphy put on a lifejacket and escaped the sinking plane with a flare gun, which he fired several times to attract the approaching Coast Guard jet.
The jet and a Broward Sheriff's Office helicopter circled over Murphy for several minutes until a Coast Guard helicopter arrived and pulled Murphy out of the sea, Burns said. Two small Coast Guard patrol boats were also on the scene.
Murphy was the only person aboard the Piper.
Coast Guard Lt. Michael Dean, the rescue helicopter's pilot, said the Piper had sunk when his crew arrived and that Murphy did not appear to be seriously injured.
"He was in good condition for what he had gone through," Dean said. "He was just tired of swimming."
The Coast Guard took Murphy to Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines. He was later moved to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where he was in stable condition late Thursday, Burns said.
Records show the Piper was owned by Twin Town Leasing Company Inc., in Fort Lauderdale. The company's owner, Clay Gamber, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The aircraft was one of seven Pipers that the company charters, records show. The plane that crashed Thursday was built in 1974.
On Feb. 20, 2003, Murphy suffered head and neck injuries when a plane he was flying to Miami International Airport from Havana crashed into the Gulf of Mexico about 10 miles southwest of Marathon. Murphy's plane for that flight, a twin-engine Cessna 402B, also experienced mechanical problems.
Murphy, a Cuban-born U.S. citizen, was returning from a charter flight to Cuba during that trip. Officials did not know why Murphy was returning from the Bahamas on Thursday.
Murphy's brother, Miguel Murphy, of Lauderdale Lakes, said Denis Murphy has a wife and daughter, and has been a pilot "for a long time."
Miguel Murphy said he often tries to get his brother to quit flying.
"It's not a very safe profession to do," Miguel Murphy said. "But he says when crashes happen, that mostly it's not the pilot's fault, that it's the airplane."
Staff researcher Bill Lucey contributed to this report.
Jaime Hernandez can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4631. [/font]
