Investigators have released new details of the final moments of a Cayman Islands pastor and his daughter who died in a plane crash while flying aid to Jamaica.
Alexander Wurm, the 53-year-old founder of Cayman-based Ignite the Fire ministry, and his daughter Serena, 22, were killed when their small Beechcraft King aircraft plummeted into a pond in a residential neighbourhood in Florida last month.
Wurm, a private pilot and a well-known evangelist and philanthropist in Cayman, was at the controls of the aircraft, which was carrying hurricane relief supplies to Montego Bay after Hurricane Melissa.
The US National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary investigation report does not give a verdict on the specific cause of the crash.
It does record muffled “heavy breathing” sounds from the cockpit in response to air traffic control directions, suggesting a possible medical issue for the pilot, but draws no definitive conclusions.
The preliminary report describes how the twin-engine Beechcraft King airplane took off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport and climbed to about 4,000 feet before entering cloud and beginning a turn.
The pilot briefly acknowledged a heading change before communication ceased.
It details how air traffic controllers tried in vain to reach the cockpit as the plane changed course and started to descend.
The report states, “With no response from the pilot, the controller transmitted, “November zero hotel golf, climbing?”
”Heavy breathing and ‘grunting’ sounds could then be heard, and by that time the airplane had descended to about 1,500 ft and reached an airspeed of about 270 kts.”
Security cameras from the Coral Springs neighbourhood captured the final seconds of the flight as it nosedived into a pond surrounded by homes, just seven miles from where it had taken off.
“The cameras captured two frames of the airplane coming into view in the top left, in a steep nose-down attitude, before striking the water,” the report states.
The plane was not trailing smoke or vapours in any of the recordings, all of which captured the sound of engines operating.
The preliminary findings also document how the aircraft was loaded before departure, one of several factual areas investigators typically examine.
According to the report, the plane had been packed with hurricane-relief supplies, including a generator that was secured in the aft baggage compartment.
The remaining cargo was placed by the pilot on the cabin seats and their footwells.
“The cargo was not weighed; however, the pilot checked the weight documented on each box as the airplane was loaded, and he finished the loading process once he determined that capacity had been reached.”
The aircraft was also filled to capacity with fuel prior to takeoff. The investigators make no statements about whether loading or weight played any role in the accident.
The report indicates the pilot has purchased the 1976 Beechcraft plane in February 2024, and in June of that year it underwent a complete interior furnishings and avionics suite upgrade.
A final report, which typically includes analysis and conclusions, may take more than a year to complete.
Wurm was remembered in Cayman as a warm, kind man, devoted to serving others and spreading the Gospel. Prior the fatal incident he had already flown supplies and aid to Jamaica using the same aircraft.
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