With all these drug planes landing in Belize especially up north, the sighting of any plane in an irregular setting gets people jumpy. That's what happened when a Cessna 150 landed on the Sarteneja airstrip this weekend. But police say so far in their investigation, this is not one of those suspected drug planes and there is nothing to connect this aircraft with any illegal activity. The aircraft is registered in the US but owned by a Mennonite businessman. The problem is that he did not get flight clearance from the department of civil aviation to fly the plane into Belize. DCP Chester Williams explained.
Chester Williams, Commander of Operations
"Information was received of a plane that had landed in the Sarteneja area on the airstrip and contrary to what might have been said that it was clandestine airstrip, there is a legal airstrip and that plan did land on that legal airstrip, however the difficulty there, the plane that landed there is a registered plane out of the US and it is owned by a person who livers in Belize. Now normally when you have a plane that is not registered in the country and it needs to move around, it needs to get what is called a flight clearance, you have to apply to the department of civil aviation for clearance and once that flight clearance is 
granted the police would be notified and other agencies would be notified and then they would be given permission to land at a certain airstrip or airport in this case that plane did not get any flight clearance so it is a matter for civil aviation to see if they have not complied with the requirements of the law under the civil aviation act then civil aviation can take legal action against them."
So the case is in the hands of civil aviation. They can decided to let the business man off with a caution, fine him or temporarily revoke his pilot license.
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