After emergency crews arrived, Santiago had gone from shock into a coma, and he died days later.

Island Express, based in Albany, was the operating entity of MER Leasing Corp.

After Santiago's crash, Island Express' director of operations told NTSB investigators the company "never had any problems operating our aircraft with regards to icing." Island Express' chief pilot told investigators that the FAA inspector overseeing its operations "stated in the past that he would not impose any restrictions regarding their operation in icing, since there had been no problems."

Another FAA official told investigators he "did not know" why the agency had not acted before.

ACTION AFTER CRASH

What is clear: No FAA enforcement action had begun before the crash even though the inspector involved knew the planes were not certified for icing, records show.

The Albany FAA inspector, John Ludwig, did not respond to Miami Herald requests for comment. A summary of an NTSB interview with him after the crash quoted him briefly, saying that "because Island Express's airplanes are not certified into known icing, [there] are no provisions in their operations specifications for flight into known icing."

The FAA probe launched after Santiago's death ended with an "uncollectible'' action against MER because, by 2003, the company had surrendered its operating certificate. Calls to phone numbers listed for the company in New York were not returned.

"The thing I walked away from it was money and business is more important than people," Woodman said.