Crash of Sightseeing Homebuilt Flight Raises Questions

Isabel Goyer

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 12:09 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A sightseeing Air Cam floatplane carrying a pilot and a family of three crashed off the coast of Honduras, with all four occupants surviving.
The article questions why an engine failure would lead to a crash for a twin-engine Air Cam, known for good single-engine performance, rather than an uneventful water landing.
The plane was a modified 3-seater, a configuration discouraged by its manufacturer due to overloading concerns, raising questions about how it carried four people and its actual load.
The exact cause of the crash remains unclear, with conflicting accounts (engine failure vs. wing clipping water) and unanswered questions regarding the aircraft's condition and the nature of any damage.

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The crash of a sightseeing plane just off the coast of Honduras on Jan. 11 that was reported on by NBC’s Today show on Monday raised questions here at Flying that the NBC report did not address.

Andy Atkins, his wife Jenny and four-year-old son Logan, the story reported, were on an air tour of the island of Roatan near Honduras when, the story claims, “disaster struck: The engine cut out and the seaplane crashed into the water.”