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clock Dec 23, 2005 11:33 pm US/Eastern

Families Grieve Seaplane Crash Together

There are about 25 other Grumman G-73 seaplanes in operation

Man's body found floating 3 miles off Key Biscayne was last victim

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Evan Bacon
Reporting

(CBS4 News/AP) MIAMI BEACH Friday night, a group of ministers got friends and family of Flight 101 victims together for a dinner in Miami Beach so they can share their thoughts and prayers over the 20 lives that were lost in the seaplane crash. CBS4's Evan Bacon reports from the scene.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a bulletin indicating that it may require mandatory inspections of all seaplanes like the one that crashed after its right wing separated from the fuselage, killing 20 people.

While the precise cause of Monday's crash has not been determined, the FAA said in the bulletin that the preliminary investigation revealed stress fractures in the 58-year-old Grumman G-73 Turbine Mallard seaplane's right wing support that could have played a key role.

"FAA is considering the need for mandatory detailed inspections of parts or all of the wing structure on the fleet of G-73 airplanes," the bulletin said. "If FAA determines that the accident airplane wing's pre-separation condition is potentially manifest in other G-73 airplanes, the FAA will take appropriate action."

The seaplane that crashed Monday just off Miami Beach en route to Bimini was operated by Chalk's Ocean Airways, which voluntarily grounded its four other G-73 aircraft after the fractures were discovered by the National Transportation Safety Board.

There are about 25 other Grumman G-73 seaplanes in operation, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. Chalk's was the only one to operate the 1940s-era aircraft commercially and had refurbished its fleet in the 1980s -- including installation of more powerful engines -- to carry a greater number of passengers.

The FAA notice came just before authorities determined the body found floating in the Atlantic Ocean several miles from the site of the fatal seaplane crash was that of the missing 20th victim.

The man's body was found floating about three miles off Key Biscayne by a boater who called the Coast Guard at 9:25 a.m., said Coast Guard spokeswoman Gretchen Eddy.

The location is about nine miles south of Miami Beach, where the Chalk's Ocean Airways seaplane crashed Monday afternoon, killing all 20 passengers and crew aboard.

The lone missing passenger was identified as Sergio Danguillecourt, 42, a member of the board of directors of Miami-based distiller Bacardi Ltd., said Miami Beach police spokesman Bobby Hernandez.

Danguillecourt, the great-great grandson of Bacardi's founder, was traveling from Miami to the Bahamas island of Bimini with his wife, Jacqueline Kriz Danguillecourt. The couple lived on Fisher Island -- just south of the Government Cut shipping channel where the plane went down -- with their two sons.

Also on Friday, divers wrapped up their search for small, remaining airplane pieces on the ocean floor, said National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Paul Schlamm.

"They got almost 100 percent of what they were looking for," he said.

Most of the aircraft was recovered Wednesday in about 35 feet of water and was already being examined by NTSB experts.

A final determination of the crash's cause is not expected for months or longer.

(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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