Road to be built at plane crash site
Search for victims resumes in Florida
May 12, 1996
Web posted at: 8:50 a.m. EDTMIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Rescue workers resumed their search for victims Sunday in the marsh where a ValuJet DC-9 with 109 people aboard crashed "like a bullet into the ground" shortly after takeoff from Miami International Airport Saturday afternoon. (238K QuickTime movie)
A road will be paved closer to the crash site to allow in heavy equipment, Metro-Dade Fire and Rescue Lt. Luis Fernandez said. This is necessary because there is no firm ground near the wreck.
"The main thing we have to do this morning is gain access to that area," Fernandez said Sunday. "It's going to be a long, tedious effort.
"The accessibility and terrain. Those are our main problems." He added that there was very little debris and that the search effort would be difficult. (230K AIFF or WAV sound)
No survivors were found and no bodies recovered Saturday as workers focused on a 50-square-yard area in the Everglades, he said. The airline has begun releasing names of those aboard. (Partial list of passengers and crew)
On orders from President Clinton, Transportation Secretary Federico Pena and FAA Administrator David Hinson were traveling to Florida Sunday to inspect the accident scene.
Difficult search
Rescue efforts were hampered by aviation fuel covering the crash site and concerns about alligators and snakes. The murky water is up to 5 feet deep. Beneath the water is 3 feet to 5 feet of muck, which engulfs the remains of the plane, Fernandez said.
A teddy bear and a photo album were found Saturday afternoon, reminding searchers of the human tragedy. Alligators and snakes were a constant threat to workers.
Metro-Dade Fire Chief David Paulison said no parts resembling an airplane were visible. Rescue workers reported they had found pieces of the plane measuring up to 6 feet. Paulison said it will be difficult to recover any sizable pieces that might be buried in the Everglades.
Football player feared aboard
Among those feared dead were San Diego Chargers running back Rodney Culver and his wife, Karen. The passenger manifest of ValuJet Airlines Inc., which operated the Atlanta-bound flight, included Rodney Culver and Karen Culver, both of Woodstock, Georgia.
Chargers spokesman Bill Johnston said he spoke with Culver's mother in an Atlanta suburb Saturday night, and she said Culver and his wife were supposed to be aboard the ill-fated DC-9. The Culvers' two young daughters were not listed on the manifest.
"We're hoping like heck there's some mixup," the team's general manager Bobby Beathard said Saturday evening. "Anything's possible. Nothing's been confirmed. They don't come any better than Rodney."
Possible fire
The flight was about 100 miles west of the airport when the pilot reported at 2:14 p.m. that there was smoke in the cockpit, according to reports from officials at the Federal Aviation Administration and Miami International Airport. The aircraft was believed to have been turning around to return to the airport when radar contact was lost.
The FAA said the flight was in the air for 8 minutes. Those on board included five crew members. The National Transportation Safety Board was handling the investigation.
Family members of passengers on the flight may call ValuJet at 1-800-486-4346 for information.
Clintons offer condolences
President Clinton expressed sorrow after the crash.
"All Americans join Hillary and me in offering our hopes and prayers to the family and friends of those aboard the ValuJet flight that has so tragically crashed near the Miami airport," he said.
"Although we fear the worst, we are hoping and praying for their safety."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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