Glazer remains, plane wreckage recovered from sea bed

The remains of Larry and Jane Glazer and portions of their aircraft have been recovered from the spot where the plane went down last year in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica, the Glazer family said Wednesday.

The wreckage and remains were located thousands of feet below the surface and raised by a private undersea operations company hired by the family. Family members said last year they were debating such an action, but they did not disclose the search until work was completed several days ago.

It was not clear Wednesday if recovery would shed light on the cause of the mysterious crash.

The prominent Rochester couple was flying to Florida on Sept. 5 when their French-built turbo-prop apparently lost cabin pressure, lowering oxygen levels and rendering the couple unconscious.

The unattended plane, guided by auto-pilot, continued south for several hours, accompanied at times by U.S. Air Force fighter jets. Aviation authorities disclosed the unfolding tragedy, which was followed closely by the media.

The aircraft eventually ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea about 12 miles north of Jamaica.

Initial search attempts found nothing in the days after the crash, which occurred in a spot where the water is up to 10,000 feet deep.

The family, however, began another search with the help of a Maryland firm, Eclipse Group, earlier this month. That mission "was a success," the family said in a statement released Wednesday.

"It is with great relief that we will be bringing our parents home," the statement said. "Knowing we did all that could be done to bring our parents home provides us with the possibility for closure and eventual healing. We appreciate all of the support we have received from the Rochester community throughout this time."

Larry Glazer was chief executive of Buckingham Properties, one of Rochester's leading property management and development firms. Jane Glazer was founder and chief executive of QCI Direct, which sells home, kitchen and personal care products through catalogs and the Internet.

The Glazers, parents of three adult children, were noted philanthropists and were very active in the local Jewish community.

Eclipse Group recovered "significant portions" of the plane's wreckage.

"We are hopeful that, in time, this will provide us with answers as to exactly what happened that day," the statement said.

The statement did not elaborate on what portions of the plane were found or what the wreckage might reveal about the cause of the accident. The Glazers' Socata TBM 900 was equipped with a flight-data recorder. But experts said last fall that unlike "black boxes" in commercial jets, the TBM's recorder was not hardened to withstand a severe impact.

A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, which has been probing the crash, said Wednesday that an investigator would examine the recovered wreckage later this week.

"Currently, I have no information on a recorder," spokesman Terry Williams said. "It will be approximately a year before we determine the probable cause of the accident."

Experts said shortly after the crash that the six-seat TBMs had no history of loss-of-pressure incidents. Generally, they can be caused by a slow leak in the cabin or by failure of the equipment that maintains pressure.

Glazer was very familiar with the high-end TBMs; he had owned and piloted them for 20 years and was president of the owners and pilots association.

The Eclipse Group, based in Annapolis, Maryland, is a relatively new company that specializes in deep-water recovery operations and support for energy, telecommunications and other companies. The company's website suggested Eclipse uses remotely operated underwater vehicles.

The company website said its principals, while at Eclipse or other companies, have been involved in recovery of numerous aircraft and also had assisted in undersea video production by director James Cameron and others.

SORR@DemocratandChronicle.com

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