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Search Resumes For Wreckage Of The Small Plane Owned By Larry & Jane Glazer

WXXI

(WXXI News, CNN, AP) The search resumes Saturday morning at daybreak for wreckage of the small plane that was believed to be carrying Larry and Jane Glazer, pillars in the Rochester business and philanthropic community.

They are presumed dead  after their single-engine turbo-prop, a Socata TBM 700  went down just off the coast of Jamaica. 

The  plane took off at 8:45 a.m. EDT from the Greater Rochester International Airport and was bound for to Naples, Florida. The Federal Aviation Administration stated that the pilot had not responded to radio calls since 10 a.m. The aircraft continued to fly southbound off the Florida coast, and over the Atlantic Ocean to Cuba. Two F-15 jets were scrambled by NORAD to escort the plane where they found the pilot slumped over and the windows covered in fog. Larry Glazer is a licensed pilot, Larry served as President of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association.

Maj. Basil Jarrett of the Jamaican Defense Force said the plane went down about 14 miles (22 kilometers) northeast of the coastal town of Port Antonio and the military dispatched two aircraft and a dive team.

"An oil slick indicating where the aircraft may have gone down has been spotted in the area where we suspect the crash took place," Jarrett said at an early evening news conference in the capital of Kingston.

On a recording made by LiveATC, a website that monitors and posts air traffic control audio recordings, the pilot can be heard saying, "We need to descend down to about (18,000 feet). We have an indication that's not correct in the plane." A controller replied, "Stand by."

After a pause, the controller told the pilot to fly at 25,000 feet. "We need to get lower," the pilot responded. "Working on that," the controller said

Controllers then cleared the plane to descend to 20,000 feet, a command which the pilot acknowledged. A couple minutes later, a controller radioed the plane by its tail number: "900 Kilo November, if you hear this transmission, ident" — identify yourself. There was no response.

According to FlightAware, the plane never carried out the last descent to 20,000 feet.

Larry Glazer co-founded Buckingham Properties in 1970 and recently served as CEO and Managing Partner of the company. Buckingham Properties currently owns and manages more than 60 properties, totaling over 10 million square feet in the Greater Rochester/Finger Lakes region, including the recently acquired B&L Tower and the redevelopment of the area that housed the former Midtown Plaza.

Larry was an active board member of WXXI, ESL Federal Credit Union, Rochester Downtown Development Corporation, Monroe Community College, the Jewish Home of Rochester, Rochester District Heating Cooperative, and Rochester Business Alliance. 

Jane Glazer was President of QCI Direct which produces two national retail catalogs, The Home Trends and Picket Fence, that reaches 35 million people annually. The company carries more than 4,000 products from over 800 vendors. Next month, she was to be inducted into the Business Hall of Fame. Previously, Jane was a math teacher in New York City and was a graduate of the University of Buffalo and Nazareth College. She was also Past President of the Jewish Community Center Board. 

Together, Larry and Jane served at Co-Chairs of WXXI’s Go Public Campaign.

Here's a statement released by the Glazer family:

We are devastated by the tragic and sudden loss of our parents, Jane and Larry Glazer. They loved and appreciated the opportunity to help build the community of Rochester, and we thank everyone in the community for their expressions of support. We understand that there are many questions yet to be answered about today’s events, and we too are awaiting answers. At this time, we would appreciate the ability to mourn privately. Thank you for your understanding. Mindy, Rick and Ken Glazer

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.
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