The crash into Loma del Toro in the Septentrional mountain chain of a Aerocommander 500, registration HI 535SP has revealed much more than rescuers had initially expected. In a press conference, Civil Aviation director Anibal Amparo García explained the many irregularities they found. The CAB suspects behind the flight was an organized group that routed illegal travelers to the US by air. First, the pilot reported to the Puerto Plata International Airport Control Tower that he was traveling to Nassau, Bahamas accompanied by one person. He falsely identified himself as Julio Mejía (Julio Mejia was/is the owner of the totaled airplane). When rescuers made their way up the mountain, instead they found whom were later identified as Rafael Perez Liriano (pilot), and six other passengers, Geronimo Valerio Peralta, Kenny Manuel Estevez Acosta, Andres Agomas Nuñez, Rafael Ramon Velez Guzman, Rafael Perez, Moreno Belen Puro and Santiago Robles. The government department suspects the airplane was on a run to transport illegal travelers to Bahamas, from where they would fly on to Miami. Garcia attributed the crash to a miscalculation by the pilot. "When a pilot nears a landing area he has to descend. That mountain has a height of 4,300 feet and the pilot communicated he was going to descend to 2,500. He descended below what was normal and thus the crash," said García. The real Julio Mejía and personnel at the Herrera Airport in Santo Domingo were arrested for investigations. Mejia reportedly showed proof that he had sold the airplane to one of the persons who died in the crash. The plane had departed at 7:28 am from the Herrera Airport.
