The investigation into the crash of Chalk Ocean Airways flight continues today, with the plans for the plane to be raised this afternoon.

The Government Cut channel remained closed Tuesday morning, cutting off the city’s main port from both shipping and cruise-ship traffic. Nearly 10,000 passengers were stranded on three cruise ships that were scheduled to depart Monday evening, but investigators feared ship traffic would disrupt the crash site.

Divers were photographing and mapping the 35-foot depths where the plane’s cabin came to rest, an effort to ”acquire all the investigative information we need from the bottom,” said Coast Guard Capt. James Maes.

The actual job of lifting the remains of the 58-year-old plane will fall to Air & Sea Recovery Inc., a contractor hired by Chalk’s. The company expected to be on site by lunchtime and was dropping off recovery plans for Coast Guard approval.

Officials might not wait for the salvage and are considering reopening the channel once the photography and mapping are complete. Via The Miami Herald

Previous Posts: Plane Crashes off Miami Beach - lots of links and images

More News:

• Chalk’s has long, safe history of flights – Seattle Post
• News devastates residents of tiny Bahamian island – Miami Herald