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Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
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The Story of How the Pilot Hoodwinked The High-jacker Is Truth Stranger than Fiction
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Tonight, pilot Howell Grange is at home recovering - and also speaking to 7news. The 40 year old pilot who navigated 14 passengers safely out of a hijacking on a Tropic Air flight one week ago tells us how he used his wit and his faith in a favorable outcome to trick the hijacker into thinking they were headed to the US. Jules Vasquez spoke to him at home this afternoon:
This first loop in the airplane's track was when Akinyela Taylor stabbed Fitzgerald Brown to signal the seriousness of his intent to hijack the plane.
Howell Grange, Pilot
"When I heard the the the ordeal happening and all I heard was stop, stop, stop. And I turned around and I saw Mr. Francesco already with his hands like that, and I already saw Mr Brown bleeding."
"And then, the guy he stand up with one foot on the chair and the next one on the ground and said, "This is a hijack, squawk 7700." That's what he said. I was unsure what I was going to do at the moment. Then I asked him where he wants to go. He said he needs to go to the United States. So I asked him what part of the United States you want to go? He said, Mississippi. Yeah. Mississippi. So I, I put it on the G-1000. I cut off the map and left just the airport on the MFT. They call it multifunction display. And I started to head to the International airport."
Jules Vasquez:
"So at that point, you had already decided I will have to create a fiction for this guy."
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yes, yes, I just told him. Well, at that point, well, we are going to go to the States. I'm going to take you to the United States."
Jules Vasquez:
"What made you decide in your mind? You know what? I ain't going to argue."
"Well, the state he was in, I didn't want no confrontation. My, my priority was flying the plane at that time, and I just complied with when he said. And at the same time, I comply, I just give him the comfort to know that we're going to go to the US. And just to buy a little time to figure out what I'm going to do. You know, at some point, I know he's going to figure out we're not going to go to the U.S."
Jules Vasquez:
"So you took a huge risk."
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yes, took a big 50/50 risk."
The odds of a favorable outcome were probably less than 50/50, but Grange just continued to circle and added elements to the fiction he had created for the hijacker:
"Created the whole scenario for him, because I had already realized the state of mind he's in. And I…good thing I had the opportunity to speak to the radar while I still had my headset, and I told him I need two persons, personnel to speak Spanish, so he believes that we're in Mexican airspace."
Jules Vasquez:
"You told them this in Spanish?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yeah. I told them."
Jules Vasquez:
"So he wouldn't understand?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"So he wouldn't understand yeah. And then from there, good thing the tower and the radar did an excellent job to read what I was trying to do very fast. And they they portrayed anything you need to do just inform us and let us know what you're doing."
Jules Vasquez:
"So you told them this in Spanish?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yes. Then I told him we have gotten the clear to pass through Mexico. That's what I told him. This time he was sitting right beside on the copilot seat, facing me with the knife held in his left hand. So I told him, well, we're going to go ahead over the water now. I mean, we're hitting water and we will pass by Cancun and then from there we will hit the Gulf of America or Gulf of Mexico, whichever he wanted to call.
That's what I told him. But I pretty much went to try and disorient him to turn the aircraft. Anytime I want to turn, I go into a little cloud and tune the heading bug. Well, you know, that's why I change altitude all the time. Go into the cloud, change, change that course. You don't pick up where you are. You don't. You're seeing blue water well he felt fine, he's seeing blue water. He feel we are homebound. So I came back in went back out, went all the way by Turneffe. Then I came back in and told them we're going to be hitting American airspace shortly. Then he give me his passport and tell him so they identify me, give them my name and tell them I have this airplane hijacked and we're going to be landing.
I said, okay, fine."
Jules Vasquez:
"You did that? With Belize air traffic?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yes. So I told them in Spanish. I told them in Spanish, that this guy. nut, you know, getting me somebody for a speak proper English. And they did actually, they did,"
Jules Vasquez:
"American sounding English?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yeah. Something convincing. So that you could convince him you're in Texas."
"Anywhere we are. I don't know what he was playing out in his mind, but I know what I wanted to do. I wanted to reach and land, that is what I wanted to do."
Jules Vasquez:
"Because you're running out of fuel."
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yeah,"
But all that time, he was hundreds of miles from Texas circling over Belize - heading now to the airport
Howell Grange, Pilot
"The tower were nice enough they give me vectors and called out the airport name that that he wanted."
Jules Vasquez:
"They called out the airport name in Mississippi?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, they call out the airport. And and then I when I was coming in to land towards the sea from if you're coming from the west, zero seven. I got pretty much close to the airport.
He said I don't recognize the airport, said go around, he told me. I say okay, fine. I didn't want to convince him or fight him at that stage. So I went around and done start look at the fuel."
"So I come back in and I was getting closer and closer, and he said, he told me you were not landing where I want to be. I'm going to stab you jail style. I said alright, fine. No problem. I told him,I am going. You gotta make up your mind what gotta do. I told him we will run out of gas. If we're not there, we land, we take fuel, take out the people. And I'm personally going to take you there. And we're arguing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth in the aircraft."
Jules Vasquez:
"You're arguing because?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"I was trying to distract him from not seeing the runway. So that's why I came on the coast and I head this way, head like I headed south heading. And when I know I have had the runway made. And he said, I think it's a good day to die. I told him if you go around one more time, they're going to scramble the jets and they're going to shoot us down. I told him, okay, you want to die? I disconnected the autopilot. You push it down. And that's when I grabbed the controls and I was already committed over the runway. As I touch, the first the touch, I out off the engine,."
Jules Vasquez
"You cut it off because?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"So that he couldn't push power and go around and kill everybody on board. That is when he started to attack me. He realized he was not at the airport he wanted to be."
Jules Vasquez:
"And he started to stab you?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yeah. He stabbed me three times. First three times. The first one here, then here, my ears, this is where he nearly cut off my ears. And then here. But I had on my shades. And the shades saved me a lot. I tried to hold his hand but at that time, he was stabbing me here, here, here. And then, he switched the knife on the next hand and that is when I got the stab here. And the last stab he inflicted was right here, the one on my cheek when he was trying to go to the jugular. To my throat."
Jules Vasquez:
"And you're, you're putting up the fight in your life."
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yeah. While still trying to out of aircraft with my feet. But, I mean it was a tough fight. I won't lie you. He wasn't a small man and just, just, just, just like a few seconds before the plane actually stop, that is when I hear the shot. And then, I heard the second shot."
Akinyela Taylor had been killed by an armed passenger:
Jules Vasquez:
"You must have been relieved when you heard the shot. You didn't know that you had an armed passenger "
Howell Grange, Pilot
"I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know. I glad he was there. Trust me. I glad that, I'm happy"
Jules Vasquez:
"Yeah, because he would have continued stabbing you."
Howell Grange, Pilot
"I think I would not be here to tell the story if he didn't have that gun, honestly. "
But, this pilot was ready to die for his passengers:
Howell Grange, Pilot
"I made my mind up the second when I touch that plane down, I said it had to be me. Not everyone. Yeah."
Jules Vasquez:
"You even put the importance of their safety above your own. "
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yes, yes. "
Jules Vasquez:
"At one point, you told me that you decided to keep it close to the coast, because. "
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Yes, even when we have to drop on some could survive and some might die. But we have closure. At least closure. You know? "
That's heavy stuff stuff to deliberate but this pilot knows that he was fated to be in the sky that day:
"I don't know how I came up. I honestly don't know. But I know the good Lord was with me. I know he used my body to guide everything, but he was the one. Yeah."
Grange Says He is Not the Hero, Every Passenger Played a Role
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And while anyone hearing that incredible story would gladly nominate Grange as the personification of heroism - he doesn't seek that distinction. He says that on that hijacked aircraft - everyone played a role.
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Everybody did their job in the aircraft. It's unfair to just put the work on me. I mean, I was doing my job and, but everybody did their part in the aircraft. Mr Francesco, Mr. Brown. All the passengers. I'm forever grateful for all of them to keep calm. And instead they used the time to learn the emergency exits, they made good use of the time. You know, try inform their families and that kind of stuff. So I will forever be grateful for it. They didn't escalate the situation in the aircraft so that we had to do something drastic. And everyone was not going to get home."
Passenger in Plane Did Not Know It was A Highack
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One of those passengers was American-Belizean Kim Maxwell who was returning home to San Pedro. Her perspective on what happened in the plane is totally different from Grange. And that's because the information she got at the back of the plane is totally different. She couldn't hear what the hijacker was saying, she just knew there was a stabbing. Here's what she told us via phone yesterday:
Kim Maxwell, Survived Hijacking
"Now, were you aware of what he wanted to do? Did he, did the the hijacker verbalize"
"I couldn't understand what he was yelling. I heard yelling, I could tell it was the hijacker, that I know now, but I could tell it was the guy that was stabbing who was yelling, and I couldn't understand what he was saying because I'm running to the back and my husband saying, what's wrong? What's wrong? And I'm like, they're stabbing, somebody, stabbing somebody."
"Okay, so what point did you become aware that he wanted to go to Texas?"
"I think upon landing and, getting into the fire department areas, when I learned that, So I didn't. I had no idea what he wanted while we were on board the plane."
"So all this time, you're oblivious as to what is the reason he's hijacking this plane?"
"Yes."
"Okay, so now you're on the flight, and it's a flight that just won't end. Obviously. You know, you know that lives are in danger. Are you aware that the plane may be running out of fuel? Are you aware that you're still over Belize?"
"There were times I was wondering, if we could have been closer to Mexico or even closer to Guatemala at some point, because I wasn't familiar with anything that I could see on the ground. Castaneda, who was sitting next to me and I was trying my best to wrap him up. He was saying we were going to international. And I thought, okay, he's been stabbed. He's bleeding. He's delirious. I'm not sure that he knows anything, but I'll just hope and pray that that's where we're going."
Pilot Expects Slow Recovery at Home
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And thanks to the tactical thinking of this pilot - all the passengers were unharmed and are safe at home.
But, the pilot who was ready to die for them is at home - recovering from 10 stab wounds. We asked him about his condition:
Howell Grange, Pilot
"I still can't believe it myself, Jules. Today makes it a week. And this morning I get up to post a little Facebook post there and then just try to give the country, how my mental state is that I am happy, you know? And I know they take it hard and I can't blame nobody now that it happened. And, we just have to move forward."
Jules Vasquez:
"How's your recovery going?"
Howell Grange, Pilot
"Overwhelmed. Everybody coming to visit me. Everybody bring me gifts. Everybody want to bring food. But I can't eat right now., da lone soup right now. . Soups, so I will slim down right now. Slim down time. Lone oats."
Grange's employer, Tropic Air has committed to support and assist him throughout his recovery.
Election Activist Enriquez Makes Explosive Allegation Against Judge
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In late February - citizen's activist Jerry Enriquez and his attorney Anand Ramlogan tried to force the government to hold a re-districting exercise before the general election.
They failed, but tonight, Enqriquez has placed an explosive claim before the Chief Justice. He accuses trial judge Tawanda Hondora of judicial misconduct.
Enriquez has delivered a formal complaint to the Chief Justice's office and the Judicial and Legal Service Commission office in Belmopan.
He says Hondora showed clear bias when he was overheard and recorded on a phone call during the lunch break. Apparently, Hondora went into his Chambers but did not mute his Zoom teleconference platform. He can be heard in a conversation discussing the case with others. Enriquez calls this quote, "plotting and conspiring behind closed doors in secret." He also alleges that Hondora indicated to the persons he was speaking to that he had already made up his mind to dismiss the application.
The claim is explosive and Enriquez asks that the claim, quote, "be investigated as a matter of urgency…. to determine the appropriate disciplinary action that must be taken in accordance with the law for this clear breach of the Judicial Code of Conduct."
We'll keep following the story.
Vehicle Stolen in Aggravated Burglary
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Polcie have put out an all points bulletin for this vehicle, a blue Honda Pilot with license plates BZC-38404.
The vehicle was stolen during an aggravated Burglary in Ladyville and then sped off in the vehicle. Reportedly 6 men were inside and it happened behind the former Eruption nightclub.
Before Anybody Missed Him, Shyne Says
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Shyne Barrow - he may have lost the election war but he's still fighting the UDP leadership battle. Late yesterday evening he issued a press release stating that after speaking to many members of the UDP, and after witnessing the dormancy of the party, he had decided to rescind his resignation. That's right, he has reclaimed the leadership he had already resigned from, stating that there has been quote, "no attempt at unity, no compliance with the Party Constitution, no adherence to procedures and structures of the Party, no vision or resources to take the Party forward." End quote. He says that he will remain in this post until the next national convention, which is to be scheduled later this year.
He emphasizes in the release that it was members of the party who have been asking him to return as leader.
However, another release came from the UDP HQ on Euphrates Avenue. This is from the recently elected Tracy Panton and her supporters. That release advised the public that Barrow is, quote, "not authorized to act, speak, or conduct any business on behalf of the party in any official capacity. Mr. Barrow no longer holds any leadership or executive role within the UDP. Any reference by him to the titles "Honourable," "Leader of the Opposition," or "Party Leader" is inaccurate and misleading." End quote.
They also added that Barrow is not authorized to solicit or accept donations on behalf of the UDP or act as a representative of Mesopotamia.
We note that Panton has been endorsed as leader by the other four elected members of the UDP.
Where There is Smoke, There is Not Always Fire
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There's a major land development happening in the J&W area of Belmopan but burning on the lot raised alarm bells for residents in the area. That's because they're not sure if the developers have the necessary permits to even clear the area, much less burn it.
Courtney Menzies went west today to find out more. Here is that story.
Belmopan residents in the J&W area woke up in the early hours to a blazing fire in their neighborhood. It was a controlled burn to further clear a lot that will be developed in the near future.
But for the neighbors, apart from effects of the smoke, they were concerned about the legality of the clearing and the burning. However, when we spoke to the developers off camera, they stated that they had indeed gotten the required permit from DOE and had water trucks at the site.
And for one resident - and the former UDP candidate in that constituency - while he accepts that the smoke is bothersome, he explained that sometimes burning debris is necessary, especially when development is taking place.
Ralston Frazer, Resident
"There is expansion, land needs to cleared, lots need to be set up for people to build and development needs to continue. The question that finds itself in there is what do we do with the debris, what do we do with grass, what do we do with the trees, what do we do with the vegetation that we want to discard? Now that question is because, and I'm not saying this council, it has been happening for councils, the city seems not to be efficient enough or maybe it's because of economics, to remain on top of the debris collection according to the rate of development, which is quite rapid."
"I cut my own yard and my son rakes the stuff and we put it at a corner in the yard. We have about 4 to 5 months worth of grass that we have raked in the corner of my yard which indicates that the city has not been picking it up."
"Clearing at least has to happen so do we get permission to burn it or is there some kind of arrangement to cart it away. You're doing, I don't know, out front it's about 5 acres, you're doing 10 acres, 15 acres, upwards, how do you cart that away? To where do you cart it away? What do you do with the material then?"
Among the precautions that the developers took - which included burning while the nearby school was out for the Easter vacation - they set it at 2 this morning, and it was quelled by 4.
So - metaphorically - where there's smoke, there's not always fire.
Hired to Clean Elderly Woman's Yard, He Ended Up Stealing her Glassware
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A man was arraigned on a charge of burglary after he allegedly stole from an 84 year old woman in Maskall village. 25 year old Jevon Gray was hired by the woman to clean her yard. Gray claims that the woman did not want to pay him, which led him to steal 16 ceramic plates valued $150 back in February.
He was unrepresented in court and at first he pleaded guilty. He then explained that he was invited into the home to eat breakfast with the woman, and while he did steal the items, he never broke into the house. He added that he returned the plates but that the woman said she didn't have money to pay him, and he needed to buy groceries for his family.
Gray was given a fine of $5,000 which he has until August 31 to pay, in default 1 year imprisonment.
However, since Gray owed $250 from a previous conviction and was unable to pay it, he was still detained for that unpaid fine.
She Borrowed 2k In November and by March Owed 5.5K
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It all began when she ran into some financial trouble due to a medical emergency, and that's what prompted a Belize City woman to apply for a quick loan from a micro credit outfit in November of last year. But soon after when all the fees began adding up, she says that she quickly found herself having to pay back more than double the amount she had borrowed in the first place. She has lawyered up after the business refused to freeze her interest so that she can commence repayment pay. She spoke to us off camera today and gave us more details on her situation - which serves as a cautionary tale to other borrowers.
Shermadine Dennison, Borrowed 2k, Owes 5.5k
"Last year, I had a minor stroke, it's called Bell's Palsy and with that I ended up with some financial issues. So I went to that institution and I obtained a loan. Shortly after getting the loan I was told I had to do an operation so it did the operation, and after the operation I realise I have to, I realise I didn't have the finances because of the operation to really pay back the loan. So I sent an email to the boss asking for them to freeze the interest which was at the time 20% to freeze the interest and I got a response that they cannot freeze the interest. And so what I did was pay them what I have, which was a lesser amount. And the following week or two weeks after they took out a summons, I got served and on that summons it had that I owed them an additional $2,000 which they call, Im trying to remember what they called it, and there was another fee for interest and it was some other fees. That I believe that when you obtain these loans from these lending institutions they really take advantage of us, because in the past they used to charge 4% and now they say it's 20% but really sometimes it's a 100% they are getting back or sometimes it's 200%."
"At present my bill stands at $5,517 dollars. That alone could put me into another stroke, because I didn't borrow that much. I don't have that much interest for them. You understand me? It's just that one time."
"I was hardly unable to pay the interest and now you're going to drop over 3k on me?"
The individual says that she had already written to FIU and Central bank and they were also unable to assist her. She says others are in this same situation also seeking legal advice.
Trench Sandiford Returns for Second Term as Senate President
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In its second term, the Briceno administration has been very slow in announcing its key appointments, but they did name one today. The PM has nominated Carolyn Trench Sandiford as President of the Senate for a second term. This nomination comes after consulting with the UDP, which - according to a release - has also expressed its support for her re-election. Consultations with the social partner senators continue.
Her Baby Swallowed a Dollar Coin and Almost Died
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It's a parent's worst nightmare, and one that could have turned fatal, but thanks to a mother's quick reaction, her 6 year old baby is still alive today.
We met Shermadine Dennison, the mother of a special needs child this afternoon and she gave us the details on how she saved her baby's life after she swallowed a dollar coin. Jomarie Lanza reports
This is a one dollar coin - which we're all familiar with - now imagine this being inside your 6 year old's stomach, that's what happened to little Athena last night. She is a special needs child, and her mother Doreen Baltazar was kneading tortillas and says her baby was only a few steps away when it happened.
Doreen Baltazar, Daughter swallowed Dollar Coin
"Last night I was getting prepared to make tortillas and I had on my music a little but loud and something just told me, look at the couch, and when I did I saw Athena laying down and gasping for air and holding her throat. So I went and put my finger down her throat to see if there was anything and I felt something hard, when I felt something hard I screamed out and I said god please help me. And then, what I was trying to do was take out what was in her mouth but when she swallowed it went down deeper and it grabbed her. Throat. So I just took my hand and I beat her back a couple of times and after that she did a hard swallow, and you could tell it was painful because she groaned, but after that she just let out a breath and cried."
Baltazar says It's one of the most frightening things she has ever endured, watching her daughter struggling to breathe and all the while believing that she had swallowed a 25 cent coin, but when she got to the hospital and Athena was checked out by Drs, what they found shocked her.
Doreen Baltazar, Daughter swallowed Dollar Coin
"She has little choking spells because she is autistic and she is always putting things in her mouth but never did swallow I always caught her in time but this time it went down.And I thought it was a shilling, and when she started breathing we rushed her to the hospital and I told the doctors sir my baby just swallowed a shilling, they took her to the x ray room right away and when we did the X-Ray the man said ma'am it isn't a shilling, its a dollar coin. I caught chills."
"They said, miss, right now we can't do anything they said it went down her oesophagus that's the most dangerous spot, and it's in her stomach right now but she will pass it and to just give her papaya, prunes and grapes and that will help her pass it out."
Any parent with little ones will often tell you that things can and will happen in the blink of an eye, but Baltazar says there are things that can be done to prevent these situations from happening or recurring.
Doreen Baltazar, Daughter swallowed Dollar Coin
"Just be vigilant don't have anything small, coins, bottle caps anything round that they could just pick up and put in their mouths and if it does happen try to be calm in that moment, with everything I felt crazy but I said you know what this cannot happen and I think people need to learn the heimlich manoeuvre in Belize."
"Like what I told my daughter I said girl I feel like a superhero I said because it's not anyone who could have worked so fast. You know I'm actually proud of myself because I never buckled, I never buckled, it was when everything was done that's when I felt my feet got weak and I had a terrible headache."
"I just concentrated on getting her airway open."
Joint Unions Ask For 8.5% Raise
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Last week we told you about the big increase in salaries for the Cabinet Secretary and the CEO's. Well, now the joint unions say they want their slice of the pie as well.
Two days ago, the Joint Union Negotiations Team representing the Public Service Union of Belize, the Belize National Teachers' Union, and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers wrote to government saying it wishes to raise with urgency the matter of a long-overdue salary adjustment.
They note, the quote, "recent decision to reward Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) with enhanced benefits, despite the sacrifices made by frontline public officers, represents a grave injustice and a blatant disregard for the principles of equity and shared sacrifice.
They say they are, quote, "amenable to a phased implementation of the 8.5% adjustment" for their members.
They call for a response by May first.
Farmers Talk About Improving Production, Market Access
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First launched in 2020, The Farmers Organizations for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific programme has provided extensive training and support to 16 farming organizations for the past 2 years in Belize. They officially concluded the program today in Belmopan having improved production practices, market access and showing cooperatives how they can add value to their crops. Here are the highlights from the closing ceremony:
Coconuts to The Future
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And in other agricultural news, coconuts may be the cash crop of the future and now there is a Coconut Sector Task Force to advance its interests. They held their first quarterly meeting for the year in Belmopan yesterday, bringing together stakeholders to review progress and chart the way forward for Belize's growing coconut industry. A major focus of the discussions was the finalization of the Coconut Sector Development Strategy, a Three-Year Roadmap, and a Trade and Investment Prospectus.
Coconuts with the husk can be exported to Mexico for as much as one US dollar per unit.
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