7 News Belize

Plane that Left Belize Illegally Busted In Venezuela
posted (March 6, 2013)
On Friday's news, we broke the story of a small plane, an Aero Commander 500 which had left Belize airspace without filing a flight plan, or making the required checks with customs and immigration - which is both illegal and suspicious. As we reported at the time, it left Belize from the Spanish Lookout airstrip on the afternoon of February 21st., without filing a flight plan - which would make it impossible to land anywhere legally. What made it even more suspicious is that the plane had been outfitted with extended range fuel tanks - enabling it to fly long distances.

And sure enough, illegality was afoot. Reports from newspapers in Venezuela say that the day after it left Belize, the plane made an illegal, early morning landing at an unauthorized airstrip in the Northwestern region of that country known as Acarigua. The onboard GPS showed its final destination as the Apura state, which borders with Colombia. Those onboard were Canadian David William Sawatzky and Colombian Jorge Armando Bustamante. They have been charged with illicit trafficking of narcotics and conspiracy to traffic. They were also charged with interference in the operation safety of civil aviation, diversion from and fraudulent acquisition of route, illegal piloting of aircraft and transportation of dangerous goods. They have been remanded to Los Llanos Prison.

The plane was detected by the Venezuelan military who saw an aircraft flying over at 2:40 in the morning of Friday February 22nd - almost exactly 12 hours after it left Belize. Now, the plane did not have a drug cargo on board, but Venezuelan newspapers report that their Criminal Investigations Branch screened the plane for drugs and found a substance that tested positive for cocaine.

Inside the plane, authorities found four cans of gasoline, a hand pump, a hose and an additional tank for fuel. Newspaper reports quote the pilot as saying that the stop was an emergency landing since they needed to refuel.

Venezuelan authorities confirmed what we first reported, that the fuel system had been modified with a tank that could hold 148 gallons to extend flying range.

And while it is now a case for Venezuelan authorities - what happened in Belize that made it possible for the flight to leave without all the legally required checks? Well, first off, the plane left from an authorized private airstrip in Spanish lookout. That is one of about 20 licensed private airstrips in Belize - and it was first licensed in 2005. The Belize Civil Aviation Department was aware of the plane's presence in Belize - and said they found it missing when they did regular surveillance at the airstrip on February 25th.

The aircraft is US registered and a search of its call letters shows the last owner of record as Max Hetherington from Corpus Christi, Texas who is known in Belize as a retiree. Reports are that he had been trying to sell the plane for some time.

David William Sawatzky is also well known in Belize as a Canadian Mennonite from Mango Creek where he is known to fly crop dusters and owns heavy equipment for farming. He is also a farmer and fresh fruit vendor.

Civil Aviation says it is now a matter for police - and at this time no sanctions have been taken against the owners of the private airstrip which we are told is the Spanish Lookout community.

Whenever an aircraft leaves Belizean air space it is required to file a flight plane with civil aviation and make checks with customs, immigration and BAHA at the PGIA.

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