Hawaii Plane Crash Claims Life of Hawaii Official Who Published Obama's Birth Certificate
The Hawaii state health official who released President Obama's birth certificate was killed when her the plane she was traveling in off the island of Molokai, authorities said on Thursday.
Loretta Fuddy, director of the Hawaii Department of Health, died when the single-engine plane with nine people on board crashed roughly 300 yards off Molokai's Kalaupapa peninsula on Wednesday.
The pilot and seven other passengers survived the crash with various injuries, U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue controller Darin McCracken told the Associated Press.
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"Our hearts are broken. Loretta was deeply loved and respected. She was selfless, utterly dedicated, and committed to her colleagues in the Department of Health and to the people of Hawaii," Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, who appointed Fuddy in 2011, said in a statement.
Engine failure caused the crash of a plane according to Makani Kai Air airlines owner Richard Schuman while adding that one survivor had to swim to shore.
"Getting out of the aircraft was important," Schuman told AP. "It was, extremely, a team effort on many people to take care of them."
Maui County officials said the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the crash that occurred on Wednesday and killed health director Fuddy.
Schuman said the plane had no previous problems and he did not yet know why the engine failed because he has not been able to see the plane. It crashed soon after takeoff, after getting into the air and making its turn toward Honolulu, he said.
"There's only one engine on that plane and when it quits on you, you just have to deal with it in that moment," Schuman said.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said investigators planned to speak with the pilot and some survivors on Thursday.
