Witness: Teen’s plane didn’t show obvious distress

0

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) — A man who saw a plane flown
by an Indiana teen who was killed during an around-the-world flight
attempt says the aircraft was flying low but didn’t show any obvious
signs of distress before diving into the ocean off American Samoa.
Bert
Thompson of Matuu, American Samoa, told The Associated Press on
Thursday he saw no fire, explosions or emergency lighting on the plane
carrying 17-year-old Haris Suleman and his father, 58-year-old Babar
Suleman.
"It just went down — dived into the ocean," said
Thompson, who saw the plane while sitting at a bus stop in his shoreline
village.
Haris Suleman’s body was recovered shortly after Tuesday’s crash. Crews are still searching for his
father.
Thompson
said he thought the plane would gain altitude, but it dived downward.
He ran home and called police, and patrol boats arrived about an hour
later, he said.
Thompson said he didn’t see the plane hit the
water, or see the Sulemans. It was too far offshore and too dark with no
moon in the sky, he said.
Anguished family members and friends pleaded for more resources Thursday in hopes of finding Babar
Suleman.
"Time
is of the essence," family friend Azher Khan said at a news conference
outside the suburban Indianapolis home of Haris and Babar Suleman.
"Babar is a fighter and I know that he’s over there clinging to hope,
hoping that someone will come for rescue."
The U.S. Coast Guard
said Thursday it had found wreckage from the plane, which crashed
Tuesday night shortly after taking off from Pago Pago, American Samoa.
A
C-130 pilot spotted sections of the plane’s fuselage and other aircraft
components Wednesday night in a remote section of the ocean, spokesman
Gene Maestas in Honolulu said, and ships later recovered some of that
debris.
Divers searching for Babar Suleman went to the last known
location of the plane’s distress signal but found the 300-foot water too
deep, said American Samoa Homeland Security Department Director
Iuniasolua Savusa.
"It’s beyond their capabilities at this point,"
Savusa said. "So right now, we are doing all we can to deploy methods
we have on island."
That includes casting a net to the bottom of the ocean and dragging it to see if it captures any
wreckage.
Haris
Suleman had hoped to set the record for the fastest circumnavigation
around the world in a single-engine airplane with the youngest pilot in
command. His journey was also a fundraiser to help build schools in his
father’s native Pakistan.
The Sulemans left Indiana on June 19 and were expected to arrive back in the U.S. on Saturday.
Maestas
said a Coast Guard plane was working with two ships to search for
debris. He said the search area was originally about a mile off the
coast of American Samoa but has since expanded.
"The debris is
scattering because of wind and currents so the search area is widening a
little bit," he said. "There’s a number of small islands, very small
islands, in this area, but it’s very remote."
As plans for
welcome-home celebrations shifted to mourning, family and friends
defended the father-son team and their mission, saying they had known
the dangers when they set out and had trained for them.
Babar
Suleman had long dreamed of flying around the world. He and his son
decided to make the adventure a fundraiser for the Citizens Foundation,
which has built 1,000 schools in Pakistan.
Khan said Haris
Suleman’s brother was scheduled to arrive Friday in American Samoa. He
said 29-year-old Cyrus Suleman will visit a hospital in the capital city
of Pago Pago where his brother’s body was taken following Tuesday’s
crash.
Khan said the family was not giving up hope that Babar Suleman would be found alive.
"We believe in miracles. We believe in prayers. We believe in hope," he said.

No posts to display