Instead of responding to a request for vectors in an engine failure over
water situation, this controller played Q&A. No telling if the plane would
have made land if the controller had answered *the* question. The pilot and
his teenage daughter died in the crash...

The airplane (a C-195) was based about 20 miles from me and went down last
fall off the Florida coast.

KB

TOWER: November 22 Lima your mode c (transponder) appears to be
intermittent.

TILLMAN: OK, 22 Lima this moisture causes strange things no doubt.

TOWER: OK, I'm just letting you know. What altitude are you leaving.

TILLMAN: Climbing through four thousand four hundred.

TOWER: Thank you.

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."

TOWER: Say it again, sir.

TILLMAN: Two, two lima, we, ah our engine just started running rough, we
need a vector if possible.

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.

TILLMAN: I'm unable to maintain altitude.

TOWER: Number of souls on board?

TILLMAN: Four souls.

TOWER: Nover two, two lima, your position is three miles east of the airport
as you break out, turn right two seven zero.

Then came the final exchange.

TILLMAN: See, I'm heading to heading of two seven zero. We're over the
water, we're not going to make it.

TILLMAN: Send some help, we're going in the drink.

TOWER: Alright, we're coming out. We'll send folks out to you.

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.