Accident - April 5,1978
S/N 1152
Another accident with loss of life.
Both pilots died with all passengers surviving. Two pilots were flying because it was a training flight to check out the new arrival...Tom Mooney. Like the majority of AAB pilots they arrive with extensive flying experience. Capt. Blair liked the fact that he could hire retired military pilots with incredible background in aviation. Capt. Mooney came from the U.S. Marine Corp.
Dave Howard was AAB's instructor pilot as well as Chief Pilot at American Inter-Island. Capt. Howard came from the U.S. Air Force. With that kind of experience in the cockpit, why did they make such a simple mistake?
More...
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V.I. Daily News- April 7, 1978
"Search Continues For Wreckage Of Seaplane"
Flip Blair, the second wife of Capt. Charles Blair, was one of the passengers on board the last flight of N8777A on April 5, 1978.
Flip and her friend June Clark shared their story with the The Hour, a Norwalk Connecticut newspaper, in the days that followed the accident.
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Read more below.
from Anthony Gagliani
V.I. Daily News- April 8, 1978
V.I. Daily News- April 10, 1978
V.I. Daily News- April 11, 1978
V.I. Daily News- April 12, 1978
V.I. Daily News- April 12, 1978
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news article sent in by Anthony Gagliani 9/4/21
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Little Buck Island, St. Thomas
Comments:
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Duffie says "They are sure interested in something" ... they were interested in flying to their destination.
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The engines, after spending days in saltwater, were worth little or nothing. Corrosion sets in quickly and would effect the quality of the core.
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As stated in my comments above, I spent some time on that boat, diving on the wreck and removing control services, landing gears and some other parts that AAB wanted and needed. The fuselage was never returned to AAB.
Tom Anusewicz
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