In a press conference held in Puerto Plata last week, executives of Alas Nacionales defended the operation of airlines in the Dominican Republic. They explained that the only jet owned by Alas Nacionales is the HI-660 CA, certified by the local Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil, and that the Boeing 757 that crashed was the property of Birgen Airlines. The executives, Matti Puhakka, president of Alas Nacionales; Daniel Suazo, vice president administration; Peter Diram, general manager; Silvano Suazo, secretary of the board of directors; and Hector Guerra, director general of operations, said that a company’s responsibility is limited in its liability to the passengers, and that the insurers of the airline will be making payments to the family members in due course. The executives denied that the German authorities had not granted the aircraft permission to enter their air space.