Search teams are looking for signs of a private plane that crashed in the ocean near Jamaica Friday, after diverting from a flight path that was to have taken it from New York to Florida. The plane attracted the attention of both the U.S. and Cuban military after its pilot ceased communications.
The plane went down about 14 miles from Jamaica's coast. Its occupants are believed to have been real estate developer Larry Glazer, an experienced pilot who may have been at the controls, and his wife, Jane, the owner of a catalog business.
Member station WXXI has these details about the couple:
"They were good friends, dedicated members of the WXXI/Little Board, and totally committed to Rochester.
"As a developer, Larry Glazer and his Buckingham Properties group always looked for the difficult projects, ones that others might pass on, because he was so committed to the future of Rochester and wanted to make a difference. He was one of the strongest supporters of WXXI's affiliation with the Little Theatre.
"Jane Glazer also owned a major local business, QCI Direct. She was scheduled to be inducted into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame next month."
As we reported Friday, the Glazers' plane, a high-performance single-engine turboprop, left an airport in Rochester, N.Y., at 8:45 a.m. ET, bound for Naples, Fla. But air traffic controllers lost contact with it at 10 a.m. and the craft crashed in the afternoon, seemingly because it had run out of fuel.
Before the crash, WXXI reports, the aircraft flew "southbound off the Florida coast, and over the Atlantic Ocean to Cuba. Two F-15 jets were scrambled by NORAD to escort the plane where they found the pilot slumped over and the windows covered in fog."
The station adds that the plane's last communications included a request to fly at an altitude below 20,000 feet — a detail that has led aviation experts to suspect the plane's cabin might not have had adequate oxygen.
The Jamaican and U.S. coast guards will search for the aircraft today, reports the Jamaica Observer. An oil slick was spotted on the water Friday, but darkness forced searchers to abandon their efforts.
In Naples, ABC 7 News published a statement from the Glazers' children:
"We are devastated by the tragic and sudden loss of our parents, Jane and Larry Glazer. They loved and appreciated the opportunity to help build the community of Rochester, and we thank everyone in the community for their expressions of support. We understand that there are many questions yet to be answered about today's events, and we too are awaiting answers. At this time, we would appreciate the ability to mourn privately.
"Thank you for your understanding.
Mindy, Rick and Ken Glazer"
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