Aztec N6844Y

     At 7:30 am on September 19, 1994, Fitzroy Williams piloted his Piper Aztec from Canefield Airport, Dominica, West Indies, toward St. Thomas. He was on the UA 555 highway. Williams was cautious about the possibly of some heavy clouds and possible rain along the route, so he initiated an IFR flight plan. He cruised at 8,000 feet to stay at an altitude where it was broken  to scattered. Below this there was a cloud layer broken to scattered extending 2 to 3000 feet.

             Williams was accompanied by four friends, Alfred Leslie,
                 Sharon Gregoire, Marcia Galbon and Michelle Nelson.
                 He was making a minor alteration in his altitude when, at
             8:42 am, he reported over ILURI intersection at 8,000 feet.
             About 16 miles northwest of this intersection, Williams began
             his descent. Radar last captured him at 7,800 feet.

           Detailed weather reports held in the NTSB Factual make it clear
           that broken clouds and scattered rain showers were along the
           route, though they were avoidable. Indeed, the narrative of the
     report even states that the weather in the immediate area was unknown.
   There is somewhat of a paradox then when a couple of paragraphs later it insists that “intense and building showers” were along the route there.

     This supplication to weather can be found in several reports. Take, for instance, the Cherokee Archer. Weather satellites were not able to detect more than cloud cover in the area, but the report suggested that this could indicate “building convective activity,” though the satellite was capable of detecting that and it need not remain an assumption on an investigator’s part. Here the report is insistent that convective and intense activity could be determined by the satellites.

     Fitzroy Williams just disappeared without trace, like so many others. As the report concludes: “The airplane, the pilot and the four passengers have not been found; therefore, the damage is presumed to be destroyed and the injuries are presumed to be fatal.” A not so reassuring epitaph.