Plane Crash Lands In San Victor No One Found In The Area
On yesterdays newscast we were the first to report on the aircraft that crash landed approximately two miles West of San Victor Village in the Corozal District. At that time information was hard to come by but tonight we have the story in its entirety. Hipolito Novelo and Cameraman Kenric Simpson have the details.
Hipolito Novelo-Reporting
At around 1:00 yesterday afternoon this 210N single engine Cessna plane crashed landed into a feeder road just two miles from San Victor Village. Authorities did not get wind of the situation until 3 hours after which is when they arrived at the scene. Soon after, a throng of BDF and personnel from the Anti Drugs Unit were dispatched to the area, indicating that the situation was serious.
The plane is the first of its kind in Belize. It can fly at a velocity of 185 knots for about 6 hours straight and its worth over $205,000. Based on their investigations authorities have traced the plane to Ecuador and have determined that its registration number HCCHZ is not the original.
As you can observe on your screen the right wing of the plane was smashed, the windows were shattered, the right door was broken, the propellers were jammed with pieces of cane and the retractable gears were destroyed.
Here is what police suspect happened: the plane, which was coming from Mexico, intended to land safely on this dirt road. As the plane hit the ground, this giant pothole caused the left wing to come in contact with the sugar cane field causing the pilot to loose control.
According to Officer In Charge of the Corozal Police Formation Gualberto Garcia, when police arrived at the scene the pilot was long gone and nothing was found inside the aircraft.
Gualberto Garcia, Officer In Charge, Corozal Police Station
"Police receive information of an aircraft that landed behind San Victor village at about 4:00pm. Police responded to the location and upon our arrival we saw a single engine aircraft that has crash landed on a feeder road a few miles outside of San Victor Village, initial investigations from police has revealed that this aircraft may have landed sometime around 1:00pm to 1:30 pm, upon our arrival we observed that the aircraft which had crash landed had already been surrounded by civilians and upon us taking control of the aircraft we made observations inside and outside the aircraft and we did not find any illegal item within the aircraft or it surroundings."
Hipolito Novelo-Reporter
"Did the authority found any indications that any illegal items had been in the aircraft?"
Gualberto Garcia, Officer In Charge, Corozal Police Station
"Well, at this point we are getting a lot of information coming from the public but it would not have anything concrete for us to make any determination at this point to suggest that indeed anything suspicious or anything illegal may have landed but rumors are abundant and we have some evidence that any illegal was there."
Hipolito Novelo-Reporter
"Has the authority been able to figure out the route or the aircraft?"
Gualberto Garcia, Officer In Charge, Corozal Police Station
"At this point we do not have that established as yet, we are working along with the BDF and the ADU from Belize City and all of that information at this point we are trying to ascertain the origin of this flight or the destination where we have found this aircraft."
Hipolito Novelo-Reporter
"Do police believe that it was meant to land there in San Victor?"
Gualberto Garcia, Officer In Charge, Corozal Police Station
"We are not sure the destination that that aircraft had and to me the road didn't look to optimum condition for the aircraft could land and at least we are not certain if thi area is where this aircraft was suppose to be landed."
Authorities ripped apart the inside of the plane which was originally built with 4 seats. But this particular aircraft had only one seat and that's the one that the pilot was using. Police have determined that the other seats were removed for cargo space since the aircraft can easily hold up to 1500 pounds of cargo. And while the plane does have a GPS device, the engineer at the site explained that it could not be activated since it could cause an explosion.
In the village of San Victor, no one saw or heard anything but what some residents believe is that drugs and mafia are involved.
Voice of Villager
"Pues yo no oí nada y ni bid� nada y cuando yo llegue ni el avión pude ver porque no nos dejaron por los policías no lo mire, yo solo bid� que la gente van y vienen pero yo no s� que era yo si solo eso yo bid� y pens� que era Custom pero no es, era como las cuatro.
Voice of Villager
"Yo fui a mi trabajo y allí quedaron la gente cuando yo vine en la tardecita oigo que dicen que cayó el avión haya y hasta ahorita no he ido a ver a donde esta o que paso o que callo o que agarraron nada porque aquí trafica la ley y no te puedo decir pero yo se que el avión caído es lo que est�n cuidando, cuando se fueron mis hijos en la ma�ana a cortar cana allí vieron que esta la ley haya y los soldados que est�n cuidando el avión."
Voice of Villager
"Pues como dicen es mafia esa cosa cuando oyen que pasa el avión o calle el avión eso es lo que dice la gente, es mafia pero yo nunca lo he visto.
The village is located just a couple of miles from the Belize/Mexico Border. If anybody wanted to cross anything illegal, the easy avenue would be the Rio Hondo River that runs along several Mexican Rural Communities and leads directly to the border.
Allegations are that after the plane crash landed the pilot transported the illegal cargo, in this case drugs, across the river. In addition there are reports that Mexican Marines detained the pilot along with the cargo. When we questioned Corozal Police about the allegations, we were informed that, that side of the story is still being investigated.
As for the plane, it is being dismantled by the engineers and will be transported some time tonight to the Phillip Goldson International Airport. Corozal Police have detained a number of villagers for questioning in relation to the incident.
CTV3