Another mysteriously empty cargo
plane has landed and been
abandoned in Belize...and if these
unscheduled visits continue, the
B.D.F. may soon have the biggest
air force in the region. It is not
certain when the latest landing took
place, but law enforcement officials
speculate that it was around the fourth or fifth of
September that the twin engine Beechcraft Queen
Air--the picture on your screen is a file shot of a
similar
plane--made an emergency landing in a corn field some
two miles from Belmopan's Hector Silva Airstrip. The
plane is an older model with the seats removed,
obviously used for cargo, more than likely cocaine. It
carried a U.S. registration number and suffered some
structural damage upon landing, but is said to be
repairable. A check with civil aviation authorities
indicates the aircraft was not cleared to enter Belizean
airspace and officials are working with their stateside
counterparts to dig up more information on the plane's
pedigree. Police believe the drug plane may have been
hoping to land at a proper airstrip--perhaps
Belmopan's--but suffered an engine failure and was
forced to put down in the cornfield. What became of the
cargo, pilot or any interested parties on the ground is
unknown. On August twenty-ninth an Antonov 26 cargo
plane landed on a road near Blue Creek in the Orange
Walk District and was abandoned. Like that aircraft, the
Queen Air will become the property of the Government of
Belize.
AmbergrisCaye.com 
