Published On:Saturday, December 19, 2009

By ALISON LOWE

Tribune Staff Reporter

alowe@tribunemedia.net

AIR accident investigators are probing a plane crash that killed four people.

Eyewitnesses described seeing a "fireball" as the blazing aircraft hurtled to the ground, sending a shockwave for miles around.

Up to press time yesterday, police investigating the crash of the Falcon Air Jet in eastern Inagua had yet to confirm the exact number or nationality of the individuals onboard.

However, a police officer believes four people may have been inside. Unconfirmed reports are that the pilot and co-pilot are both Americans -- Harold Hangle and Tredy Camilo.

The plane belongs to the US-based company Wells Fargo, the Dominican Today newspaper states, quoting The Dominican Aviation Civil Institute (IDAC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Superintendent Elsworth Moss, of the Criminal Investigations Department, confirmed that his officers have flown from Nassau to the country's southernmost island to assist with investigations into the crash.

However, at press time last night he had yet to receive a report back from the team about their findings.

Local Inagua police officer PC 2887 Michael Tucker said the plane had come down into particularly "rough, bushy" terrain away from any development, requiring police to set out by car and then on foot to inspect the wreckage yesterday.

PC Tucker said that based on the "frightening" scenes witnessed by those living on the island, he doubted anyone will be found alive at the site of the crash.

The flight was said to have come to a fiery end around two hours after leaving the Dominican Republic, where it had stopped at the Higuero International Airport to refuel.

It was scheduled to land in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday evening, but never showed, causing local authorities to raise the alarm.

The aircraft shocked residents of the small settlement of Mathew Town, Inagua, when it appeared in the sky over the island as an unidentified speeding fireball at around 7.30pm.

Moments later, locals reported feeling a "shockwave" ripple through their homes on the moment of impact.

Describing the dramatic moments when the plane -- at that point an unidentified flying object -- appeared in the sky, a Matthew Town resident said: "There was just a flash of light for a couple seconds, then a couple seconds later there was this vibration which shook the doors.

"By that time everyone was huddling around trying to find out what it was - we had no idea," she said.