The helicopter carrying billionaire Chris Cline, his daughter and five others was in the air for only 1 minute before it went into a spin and crashed into the ocean, a federal agency said in a preliminary report released Wednesday.
The 17-seat Agusta Westland AW-1339 dropped 50 feet and slammed into the water near Cline’s private island in the Bahamas shortly before 2 a.m. July Fourth, the National Transportation Safety Board report says.
The full investigation into what caused the crash could take up to two years, said Eric Weiss, a spokesman for the agency.
Family members have said the chopper left in the middle of the night for a hospital in Fort Lauderdale after Cline’s 22-year-old daughter Kameron had a medical emergency. But according to the NTSB, two people had fallen ill, though the report does not say who.
In addition to Cline and his daughter, the crash killed Brittney Layne Searson, 21, of Palm Beach Gardens; Jillian Nicole Clark, 22, of Louisiana; Delaney Lee Wykle, 22, of West Virginia; Geoffrey Lee Painter, 52, of Barnstaple, United Kingdom; and David Jude, 56, of West Virginia.
Relatives called authorities at 2:53 p.m. after realizing the helicopter never made it to Fort Lauderdale.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an “overdue flight” alert about 3:21 p.m.
Local residents in the Bahamas found the submerged helicopter upside down in water 16 feet deep sometime between 4 and 5 p.m., the NTSB report says.
In his flight plan, the pilot indicated he would be using instruments rather than sight on the flight from Walker’s Cay Airport to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The pilot, who is not identified in the report, left Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach shortly before 1 a.m., the report says.
A witness reported the helicopter landed at Big Grand Cay between 1:30 and 1:45 a.m. After landing, the helicopter kept the engines running while the passengers boarded.
During the takeoff, the witness reported seeing the helicopter climb to about 30 to 40 feet and accelerate in a nose-down position. He noticed nothing unusual, the report says.
Another witness about 1.6 miles from the accident site reported seeing the helicopter lift off and climb to between 40 and 50 feet above ground level. He then saw blue and white lights spinning to the left at a rate of about 1 to 2 seconds between rotations while descending. He estimates the helicopter rotated to the left three to four times.
He heard a “whoosh whoosh whoosh” sound and lost sight of the helicopter, then heard it crash into the water.
The witness reported the crash to the “caregiver” of Big Grand Cay then took off on his boat to search for the aircraft, but could not find it.
The chopper crashed into the water about 1.2 miles from its departure point at Big Grand Cay.
When Bahamian authorities recovered the helicopter, the tailboom was separated from the fuselage and had broken into multiple pieces. All five main rotor blades were separated but recovered as was the tail rotor assembly. All four tail rotor blades were separated, and one of the blades was not found.
The helicopter was equipped with a multi-purpose flight recorder, an enhanced ground proximity warning system and several additional components that could help provide clues into what caused the crash.
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Cline had a net worth of $1.8 billion and was dubbed the “New King Coal” after earning his fortune. He lived a life of luxury in South Florida, with a 34,400-square-foot oceanfront mansion along with a $30 million yacht called “Mine Games” complete with a two-person submarine and helicopter landing pad.
Cline launched his career in the coal industry in 1980 at the age of 22, according to his firm’s website. He began working as an underground coal miner in southern West Virginia and rose through the ranks. In 1990, he founded the energy development firm, the Cline Group.
In 2006, he formed Foresight Energy LLC to operate mines in Illinois, then later sold his controlling stake.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4554.
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