The authorities of the Air Surveillance Service of the Ministry of Security said that the maneuver carried out by the pilot of the plane that crashed on Tuesday morning in Pavas prevented a greater tragedy.
The aircraft crashed three minutes after taking off from Tobias Bolaños airport. A possible mechanical failure in the engine could have been the cause of the accident, although it will be the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAV) that confirms or rules out this hypothesis.
The accident occurred over Torres River in Pavas, near many houses.
I must admit that the pilot’s maneuver was quite good. He had the expertise to put it (the plane) in the river so as not to cause a greater tragedy,”
said Juan Luis Vargas, Director of Air Surveillance.
The pilot, named Cristian Méndez, has a lot of flight experience, as reported by the DGAV and was taken in delicate but stable conditions to the medical center.
The crashed caused the death of a 40-year-old woman named María Elena Umaña, who was traveling to Tamarindo. She suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest when she was taken from the 80-meter precipice to which they fell.
According to Cruz Roja, they performed maneuvers for up to 15 minutes to revive her, but it was impossible.
The other five occupants of the aircraft were taken in delicate conditions to the hospitals Mexico, Calderón Guardia and San Juan de Dios. Three were Costa Rican and two Americans, who mainly had injuries to the thorax and abdomen.