Officers of the Armed Forces are investigating the attempted theft of a Piper PA-23-350 aircraft at the Arroyo Barril International Airport in Samana on Wednesday, 28 November 2018 at around 10pm. The airport is mostly used for domestic flights to the south side of the peninsula of Samana and has very little traffic.
According to reports, security cameras and the electricity supply were cut off in the frustrated attempt to steal the aircraft. The authorities found out about the attempted theft when the airplane HI-896 was left stranded on the runway. An ID in the name of Venezuelan Ramon Castillo Manrique was found on site.
The Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC) told reporters the following day that the aircraft had been banned from flying. The IDAC called the attempted flight “clandestine and illegal.” What is known is that during the course of the day, the aircraft had flown into Samana, but the IDAC had prohibited the aircraft be allowed to fly until its airworthiness had been established. In spite of this restriction whoever was operating the aircraft tried, without establishing any communication with aviation authorities, to take off from runway 29. The aircraft sustained serious damage to its front landing gear and right wing.
Apparently pilot Ramon Castillo has a United States-issued pilot’s license and therefore the FAA has been advised of his actions.
The case is investigated by officers of the Specialized Corps of Airport Security (CESAC). As reported, the airplane had been transferred from La Isabela Airport in Santo Domingo to the Arroyo Barril airport on Wednesday.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
El Caribe
Noticias SIN
3 December 2018
