Accident Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain N711WX,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 149328
 
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Date:Thursday 27 September 2012
Time:c. 15:45
Type:Silhouette image of generic PA31 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain
Owner/operator:Premier Aviation
Registration: N711WX
MSN: 31-7552131
Year of manufacture:1975
Fatalities:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Category:Accident
Location:Tireo, near Constanza -   Dominican Republic
Phase: En route
Nature:Illegal Flight
Departure airport:Constanza, Aeropuerto 14 De Junio (COZ/MDCZ)
Destination airport:Santo Domingo, Las Americas Int'l Airport (SDQ/SDMD)
Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources
Narrative:
Shortly after take off from Constanza-14 de Junio Airport, bound to Las Americas Airport in Santo Domingo, twin engine aircraft crashed and burned. Both occupants were killed. The cause of the accident was attributed to poor training of the crew. However, the aircraft may have been in use in carrying contraband cargo or drug smuggling, according to a contemporary news report (see link #3 for the full report):

"The circumstances surrounding the crash of the twin engine plane Friday in the village of Tireo, Constanza has sparked skepticism even though the Drugs Control Agency (DNCD) announced that 13 people are being questioned, including an Army lieutenant colonel, a sergeant major, an Air Force lieutenant, a former Police agent and seven others.

The initial information included reports that airline owner Rafael Rosado had been arrested, but his name was stricken from the local media just hours after the alleged detention.

Rosado, who is again reported as being held, is the alleged owner of the Piper aircraft type, registration N711WX. He is the owner of the local airline Carib-Air

The investigation is conducted by a special commission, formed by the Armed Forces, the Civil Aviation Agency (IDAC), the DNCD and the Air Force. In addition to Rosado, a Venezuelan, two Americans and a Puerto Rican are being held. The accident killed Leyba Eduardo Perez and the pilot Victor Hugo Sanchez. Leyba, who apparently served as co-pilot of the aircraft, was a police captain assigned to the DNCD in Puerto Plata. The twin-engine plane left Constanza’s Junio 14 airfield and went down 9 miles from there.

Although the authorities are investigating on whether there is any residue of controlled substances in the charred plane, a source in Constanza affirms that at least 11 packages, weighing an estimated 1 kilo each, have already been seized at the crash site.

The source also told DT that the plane was being worked on for several days and took off “in a hurry” belching so much smoke from the engines, that “it looked as if was a crop duster.”"

Sources:

1. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/2012/archives/crash-of-a-piper-pa-31-navajo-chieftain-in-constanza-2-killed/]
2. https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/cae-avioneta-y-mueren-sus-dos-ocupantes-DODL353660
3. http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2012/10/piper-pa-31-350-navajo-chieftain-n711wx.html
4. https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2012/10/1/More-questions-into-plane-crash-in-Dominican-mountains/
5. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?omni=Home-N-Number&nNumberTxt=711WX
6. http://www.eldiariodelcibao.com/2012/09/avioneta-se-precipita-en-constanza-y.html

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
28-Sep-2012 12:20 Dmitriy Added
28-Sep-2012 12:29 gerard57 Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Destination airport, Damage]
30-Sep-2012 00:38 Dmitriy Updated [Destination airport]
09-Nov-2014 21:15 Anon. Updated [Narrative]
28-Mar-2017 19:20 TB Updated [Time, Location, Source]
22-Oct-2017 13:15 Dr. John Smith Updated [Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

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