Hero Pilot Dies in Bonaire Crash

Anyone who has ever flown a puddle-jumper between Caribbean islands can sense the terror and anguish felt by the passengers aboard the Britten-Norman Islander that ditched in the sea off the coast of Bonaire last week.

Robert Mansell, 32, the pilot of the Divi Divi Air flight from Curacao, reported trouble with the right engine of the plane on approach to Bonaire and skillfully put the plane down in the water, but was knocked unconscious by the impact.

All eight passengers on the flight survived, but were unable to get Mansell out of his safety harness before the plane slipped under the waves. The survivors were quickly plucked out of the water by nearby dive boats.

If you've never been on one of these flights, let me just explain that for passengers it is much more like being in the back seat of a car than sitting on a commercial jet. Scary enough on takeoff and landing even when the weather is perfect and everything is working smoothly. In this particular plane, a passenger literally sits next to the pilot (as the photos posted here illustrate), so the horror of the crash must have been doubled when the tourists onboard were unable to get the heroic pilot out of the sinking plane.

My condolences go out to the pilot's family as well as to the survivors, who certainly must be traumatized by last week's tragic events.