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THE CREW WASN'T TOLD THE WOMAN WAS GONE
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2000 7:20
PM
Subject: [CTRL] Fall From Plane Baffles
FBI, Others
-Caveat Lector-
Saturday December 16 11:39 PM
ET
Fall From Plane Baffles FBI, Others
By BRIAN BERGSTEIN,
Associated Press Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A woman who fell 2,000
feet from an airplane into
a community garden has left behind a baffled
team of investigators who are
trying to determine whether her death was a
tragic accident or suicide.
Friends and co-workers at Hewlett-Packard
Co. described Elisabeth
Mathild Otto as despondent, possibly from the
stress of moving to the
United States and starting a new job. They and her
husband had suggested
she seek psychological help, The San Jose Mercury
News reported
Saturday, citing sources familiar with her
situation.
``We've ruled out foul play on behalf of any of the
passengers,'' FBI (news -
web sites) spokesman Andrew Black said.
A
source close to the investigation confirmed Saturday that ``suicide
appears
to be the strong likelihood.''
FBI spokesman Andrew Black said that
although no one saw the woman
open the door as the small plane flew between
Sacramento and San Jose,
it did not release accidentally and it would have
taken effort to pry it ajar.
The FBI said two passengers who saw Otto
plunge from the plane were so
distraught that they were unable to tell the
pilots what had happened. Police
were not notified she was missing until 45
minutes after the plane landed in
San Jose on Thursday night. Her body was
found Friday afternoon.
FBI investigators interviewed passengers and
the woman's business
associates. Hewlett-Packard said Otto was 29, a Dutch
citizen from the
company's Germany office who recently began working at the
company's
Palo Alto and Roseville offices.
``We are deeply concerned
and are helping authorities to determine what
happened,'' Hewlett-Packard
spokesman Dave Berman said. ``Out of
respect for the individuals involved,
we are not providing additional
information at this time.''
The
15-seat de Havilland Twin Otter, which was operated as a commuter
service
for Hewlett-Packard employees, was carrying five passengers and
two pilots
when it set out on its regular Thursday night flight from the
Sacramento
area to San Jose.
Soon after takeoff, the plane had to make an
emergency landing because
a warning light indicated the door was unlocked.
The plane landed at 4:48
p.m. at the Sacramento Executive Airport, then
took off again at 5:20 p.m.
after the door was secured.
Three
minutes later, the door opened and Otto plunged out about 10 miles
south of
Sacramento.
``When that plane hatch was opened, the passenger
immediately in front of
her turned around and observed a female passenger
halfway out of the
plane,'' Black said. ``He lunged over the seat, reached
for her and was able
to grab hold of her shoulder and attempted to pull her
back into the plane.''
Amid what had to be a deafening and
chaotic roar, the co-pilot managed to
close the door, Black said. But the
crew wasn't told the woman was gone
and continued to San Jose, where the
plane landed at 6:05 p.m. Police
were later called from a Hewlett-Packard
office a few miles from the San
Jose airport.
Black
said the other passengers did not notice Otto behaving unusually
before the
incident.
FAA (news - web sites) inspectors determined that mechanical
malfunction
did not cause the door to open, spokesman Jerry Snyder said.
The FAA
also said inspectors did not believe the pilot erred in continuing
to San
Jose after securing the door a second time.
``The inspector
couldn't find any fault in his proceedings,'' Snyder said.
Otto lived
in an upscale San Francisco neighborhood with her husband.
``They
seemed very nice. They appeared to be very hard working,''
neighbor Travis
Pearson said. ``They weren't around a lot.''
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