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Report: Plane that crashed into Gulf off Marco ran out of fuel
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Victims on crashed plane picked up off Cape Romano
Six people, three adults and three children, were brought ashore after a plane they were on crashed near Cape Romano on Thursday, June 26, 2008.
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The pilot of a twin-engine airplane that crashed into the Gulf of Mexico near Goodland in late June told authorities that he ran out of fuel during the flight, and said that his gauges were incorrect, according to a preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
On June 26, the pilot, Bob Dohm, 1215 Shenandoah Court, Marco Island, was returning to Collier County from a day trip to Key West with a family of five on vacation from Dublin, Ireland. Just before 6 p.m., authorities learned that Dohm’s 1978 Cessna 310R, operated by Marco Aviation, was in distress.
The plane, carrying Dohm and his five passengers, identified as Paul White, Jane Gleeson, and their children Julie, Jessica and Jordan Gleeson-White, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico about six miles south of Goodland.
Dohm told investigators that before taking off from Key West he did not check the fuel tanks and did not brief his passengers on emergency procedures, according to the NTSB report. Dohm said that he briefed them on emergency procedures on their trip to Key West earlier that day, the report said.
Dohm thought he had an adequate fuel supply for the flight, the report said.
Dohm could not be reached for comment.
About 15 miles from the Marco Island Executive Airport, while flying at about 1,500 feet, the plane’s right engine “coughed a couple times,” and Dohm noted that right fuel flow was “down,” the report said. While struggling with the engine, Dohm told his passengers to don the life vests located on a shelf behind a third row of seats.
About nine miles from the airport, Dohm’s left engine began losing power, the report said. Eventually he lost all power and landed the plane in the water.
“He slowed to 93 knots, and just before ditching, he placed his arm in front of the 10-year-old passenger seated in the co-pilot’s seat,” according to the report.
The curved portion of the bottom of the fuselage was the first thing to hit the water. The plane lunged forward then rebounded, according to the report. When the plane stopped, Dohm tried to open the cabin door but felt resistance. But after opening an emergency exit window, he was able to open the cabin door.
All the passengers stayed on the wing of the plane until it submerged.
Paul White was the only one who couldn’t find his life vest, and held onto his two daughters until he saw a Collier County Sheriff’s Office helicopter. Two fishermen from LaBelle arrived soon after the crash landing and pulled all six people from the water.
While on the boat, Dohm told a member of the Sheriff’s Office and one of his passengers that he had run out of fuel, but added that his fuel gauges were incorrect.
The report said two of the passengers suffered serious injuries, one had minor injuries and three were uninjured.
After the plane was recovered from the bottom of the Gulf, about 14 ounces of blue colored fuel were drained from the plane’s left tank. No fuel was found in the right tank. Only residual fuel was found in the engine’s fuel lines.
After removing the engines, and replacing some parts that were damaged by salt water, authorities were able to start both engines, which operated normally.
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They should have stopped at the Sky Mall for gas. Seriously though thank God no one was killed!
#1 Posted by happyonmarco on July 15, 2008 at 9:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Huge,Huge pilot error, no way to mitigate his resposibility for the incident!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#2 Posted by August8 on July 16, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Pilot error, yes. No point in denying it.
Gauges are always suspect, tanks should always be checked and any error should be on the side of having too much fuel.
However, having said all that, as a pilot myself, I give a tremendous amount of credit to his clear head and piloting skills in bringing the plane down.
No one died. Often, in such situations, people do die. Let's give him a bit of credit for that.
#3 Posted by ufo2826 on July 16, 2008 at 1:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I owned a twin like this plane for 20 plus years and know it only burns about 25 to 30 gal's per hour. He should have left Marco with enough fuel for the round trip if he didn't want to spend a few extra cents in the keys. He is either a total idiot or has alltimeers but either way he should never be legal again. He's lucky he had water under him instead of trees & or mangroves, as Im sure the results would be different.
#4 Posted by marco on July 16, 2008 at 3:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There goes ger-no-stones again...always mocking someone or some serious situation. Way to go again "no stones" Please...GET A LIFE
#5 Posted by hourigan82247 on July 19, 2008 at 7:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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