By TOSHEENA ROBINSON, Associated Press Writer
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) - Bahamian aviation officials released an estimate Thursday of the weight of the plane that crashed in clear skies last week, killing the singer Aaliyah and eight others, and an independent expert said the figures indicate it was overloaded.
When it crashed shortly after takeoff on Saturday, the estimated weight of the plane, luggage and fuel was about 5,495 pounds, not including the nine adult occupants, the Civil Aviation Department said in a statement.
Investigators declined to say whether the plane was overweight at takeoff, but an independent expert on the Cessna 402B and other models said it was.
``No question about it, they were overloaded,'' said John Frank of the Cessna Pilots Association, a group based in Santa Maria, Calif., that is not affiliated with the plane's manufacturer.
The maximum authorized takeoff weight for the Cessna 402B is 6,300 pounds, but the plane and its seats alone account for at least 4,100 pounds. That would allow for an additional 2,200 pounds to include bags, fuel and passengers.
Aaliyah's plane was carrying about 574 pounds of baggage and an estimated 804 pounds of fuel, investigators said. That would allow for slightly more than 800 pounds for the combined weight of the nine adults. Officials were still working to determine the weight of those board.
Both of the twin-engine Cessna's engines appear to have been working at the time of the crash, investigators said.
Frank said the pilot probably lost control due to the plane's weight.
"The heavier it gets, the more difficult it is to control the aircraft," he said.
Frank also said that an unbalanced load could make the plane harder to control. Investigators said the placement of the bags inside the aircraft has not been determined.
A witness, Claude Sawyer, said he saw the plane veer left after leaving the ground and quickly disappear below the trees.
The Cessna crashed at Marsh Harbour airport, 100 miles north of Nassau on Abaco Island, killing all nine people on board. Aaliyah, the 22-year-old Grammy-nominated star, was leaving the Bahamas after a shoot for a music video.
Bahamian and U.S. investigators have removed the wreckage from the swampy land next to the runway and have been examining it inside a hangar at the airport.
The Civil Aviation Department said the ``on-scene'' phase of the investigation had been completed. It said there were no signs the plane was damaged before the crash.
The plane's propellers are to be examined in detail in the United States, and aircraft maintenance records have yet to be recovered.
The investigative team, which also includes U.S. officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) and the National Transportation Safety Board (news - web sites), plans to travel to the FAA office in Florida for additional work.
The FAA was still trying to clarify the relationship between the apparent operator, Blackhawk International Airways, and its registered owner, Skystream, both based near Miami, said spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.
Blackhawk officials did not return calls seeking comment. Skystream's number is unlisted.
Blackhawk was cited by the FAA four times from 1997 through 2000 for various violations, including failing to follow drug-testing rules for employees in 1999 and failing to perform proper aircraft maintenance last year, Bergen said.
The Cessna's pilot, Luis Antonio Morales Blanes, had a recent criminal record that included crack cocaine possession and theft. He had been sentenced to three years of probation on the cocaine charges 12 days before the crash.
Morales, 30, was originally from Puerto Rico and had been living in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. His body was being flown back to Puerto Rico on Thursday, said Loretta Turner, funeral director at Butler's Funeral Homes and Crematorium in Nassau, which arranged transport.
Neither Skystream nor Blackhawk had a permit to operate commercial charter flights in the Bahamas, said lead investigator Randy Butler of the Civil Aviation Department.