The Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC) suspended the piloting license issued to Ramiro Junior Jaquez Rubio and banned from flying the helicopter N212HK, property of Karim Abu Naba’a. The ruling came after the later carried out an unauthorized landing on the playing field of the Cibao Ball Park on Sunday, 5 November 2017, shortly before the start of the Aguilas vs. Tigres ball game. Abu Naba’a is the son of a major asphalt supplier to the Dominican government.
As reported, the Airbus EC-130 helicopter belonging to a shell company in Wilmington, Delaware, landed in the outfield of the Estadio Cibao, causing quite a stir when Abu Naba’a and three women and a small dog disembarked in what is now regarded as a display of the nouveau riche.
The Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC) called the incident a serious violation and a reckless act that put at risk hundreds of persons. The IDAC reportedly instructed its Division for Resolution of Security Cases to give priority to the investigation of the event to apply the corresponding penalties.
The president of the Aguilas Cibaeñas, Winston Llenas (Chilote), issued a press release that says that the board of directors of the professional baseball team in no way had authorized the landing of the helicopter on the playing field minutes before the game on Sunday against the Tigres Del Licey.
Llenas said that he had received news that an aircraft would be landing inside the Estadio Cibao and he called the general manager of the Tigres Del Licey, Junior Noboa to advise them of the situation. The press release explains that they were advised that a helicopter would land at 4:30pm bringing a group of artists who had come for the Presidente Festival in Santo Domingo and wanted to see a baseball game in Santiago. But reportedly, Karim Abu Naba got off the helicopter only accompanied by four women. The Aguilas board says it never authorized the landing.
Listín Diario reports that the so-called “Prince Karim” had done a similar act in January 2017 at the Quisqueya Ball Park. The difference then was that the helicopter landed on a nearby field belonging to a children’s baseball league, while this Sunday, the helicopter landed at the playing field of the Cibao Ball Park just 10 minutes before the game.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
IDAC
El Dia
8 November 2017
