2013 Venezuela Transaereo 5074 Britten-Norman Islander crash

On 4 January 2013, a Britten-Norman BN-2A-27 Islander, registration YV2615, operated by Transaereo 5074, went missing during a flight from Los Roques Airport to Caracas Airport, both in Venezuela.^[1] The plane took off about midmorning, in decent weather conditions.

Investigation

The investigation still continues into how the crash was caused; however the pilot flying the plane had an expired medical certificate and the airline was not yet allowed to operate.^[2] In a statement from Asdrubal Bermudez, president and owner of the company Transaereo 5074, even though the airline was unable to fly, the plane involved in the incident had met all safety certifications and was allowed to fly.

Recovery and discovery

On 27 June 2013, it was confirmed that the Transaereo BN-2A-27 Islander, missing since 4 January, was found in the Caribbean Sea, north of the Los Roques archipelago.^[3] The aircraft was located by the crew of the Deep Sea, an oceanographic ship, on the fifth day of their search for the Transaereo.^[3]
On 17 October 2013 the remains of five people were extracted from the aircraft with their seatbelts still fastened:Vittorio Missoni, Maurizia Castiglioni, Guido Foresti, Elda Scalvenzi and the copilot. However, the remains of the pilot, German Marchant, could not be located.

Notable persons killed

Vittorio Missoni, the CEO of Missoni, was on board the flight with his wife Maurizia, and three other Italian employees.^[2] He was expected to fly back to Italy on Friday, to be on hand for the unveiling in Milan of his new clothing line. He and his wife were vacationing on the popular tourist island of Los Roques.^[4]

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