Pilot calmly told tower of problems before crash

<p>The pilot of a small plane that went down off the Florida coast in December calmly told an air traffic controller about engine problems and asked for rescuers just before the crash that claimed his life, his 16-year-old daughter and another teenager, according to recordings broadcast on Wednesday.</p><p>Gary Tillman of Rome, Ga., was en route to the Bahamas on Dec. 18 with three passengers when his Cessna 195 began losing altitude over the Atlantic Ocean off Vilano Beach, just north of St. Augustine, Fla.</p><p>Tillman, 47, and his daughter Hannah perished. Anna Kipp and Rachel Hostetler, both 16, got out of the plane, but Kipp died at a hospital.</p><p>Rain, gale force winds and 7- to 10-foot seas hampered the search. A shrimp boat snagged the wrecked plane two weeks later.</p><p>Tillman had departed Craig Field in Jacksonville and was headed to Fort Pierce when the pilot reported that the plane was in distress.</p><p>WSB-TV obtained the recording of the conversation with the tower and broadcast it Wednesday:</p><p>TOWER: Nover 22 Lima your mode c (transponder) appears to be intermittent.</p><p>TILLMAN: OK, 22 Lima this moisture causes strange things no doubt.</p><p>TOWER: OK, I'm just letting you know. What altitude are you leaving.</p><p>TILLMAN: Climbing through four thousand four hundred.</p><p>TOWER: Thank you.</p><p>Moments later, Tillman said, "Two, two Lima, we just lost an engine here. Two, Two Lima, we need a vector (direction) for the beach if possible."</p><p>TOWER: Say it again, sir.</p><p>TILLMAN: Two, two lima, we, ah our engine just started running rough, we need a vector if possible.</p><p>TOWER: Yes sir. Are you able to maintain altitude? If you're not, I'll vector you right in on the localizer and nice little glide rate.</p><p>TILLMAN: I'm unable to maintain altitude.</p><p>TOWER: Number of souls on board?</p><p>TILLMAN: Four souls.</p><p>TOWER: Nover two, two lima, your position is three miles east of the airport as you break out, turn right two seven zero.</p><p>Then came the final exchange.</p><p>TILLMAN: See, I'm heading to heading of two seven zero. We're over the water, we're not going to make it.</p><p>TILLMAN: Send some help, we're going in the drink.</p><p>TOWER: Alright, we're coming out. We'll send folks out to you.</p><p>TOWER: Two, two lima just crashed, we believe, in the ocean down in St. Augustine, so any new information you might have starting putting it together.</p><p>The crash is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.</p>

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