GUSTAVIA, St. Barts - Emergency workers removed bodies Sunday from the charred wreckage of a twin-engine plane that slammed into a house on the Caribbean island of St. Barts, killing all 19 people on board and one on the ground, authorities said.Air Caraibes Flight 1501 from nearby Dutch St. Maarten crashed Saturday afternoon as it approached the runway at St. Jean Airport, authorities said.Most of the passengers were believed to be French, and one American was on board, said Georges Alexandre, local manager for Air Caraibes. Two crew members also were on board, the airline said.Police were interviewing witnesses and searching for clues as to what could have caused the crash in clear weather on St. Barthelemy, a glitzy resort island administered by France that has nearly 7,000 residents and is frequented by tourists who stay at some of the most expensive hotels in the Caribbean.Retired islander Bertholo Bruno said he saw the plane approaching and then suddenly heard the sound of one engine sputtering. The plane then veered sharply to the left and plunged, he said.''The plane came in, turned to the left and dropped straight down into the house,'' said Bruno, who lives across the street.One man was killed when the de Havilland Twin Otter plane struck the house, located on a hillside just 1,500 feet from the runway, authorities said. The man's wife was hospitalized with minor injuries, police Capt. Laurent Le Gentil said.The walls of the house struck by the plane were still largely intact, but the roof was destroyed, suggesting the plane descended at a steep angle. Among the scattered wreckage, trees had been singed by fire, but by Sunday the flames were extinguished.The plane had no cockpit voice recorder, or black box, on board, said Philippe Chevalier, CEO of the Guadeloupe-based airline. However, he said the airport's control tower gave the plane permission to land shortly before the crash. That was the last communication with the plane, which did not send out any distress signal, Chevalier said.The propeller-driven Twin Otters are among the few aircraft that can land on St. Barts' runway, which is nestled among hills and is particularly short - about 2,000 feet.Pilots have to obtain a special certification to land there, and planes approaching the runway usually must make a quick descent and fly low over houses before landing.For more information, go to www.aircaraibes.net.hello there & you too
