Mysterious Airplane Under B.D.F. Guard, Still No Word from Police

The mysterious circumstance surrounding the unauthorized landing of an aircraft at the Belize Municipal Airstrip on Tuesday morning remains an open investigation for the police department.  We can confirm tonight that the twin-engine, Piper Seneca has been flown by Belize Defense Force pilots to the Phillip Goldson International Airport where it remains under military guard.  While the Ministry of National Security and the Department of Civil Aviation have maintained radio silence in the wake of the discovery, there is a myriad of questions to ask.  Firstly, just how did the airplane manage to land at one of the biggest and busiest municipal airports after entering local airspace undetected?  Since touching down at around five-thirty a.m. on Tuesday in Belize City, neither the pilot nor the cargo, if any, has been located.  So, is there a lapse in security at the landing strip overnight?  Could the pilot of the airplane, registered to U.S. national James Stallings, have flown into Belize City, offloaded whatever cargo the aircraft was carrying, before departing unimpeded to another destination?  As we said, an official probe is being headed by the police department, but no one is speaking.  We tried contacting several ranking officers for answers today and while our efforts were futile, B.D.F. Commander David Jones would only verify that the aircraft is in their custody.

David Jones

Brig. Gen. David Jones, Commander, B.D.F.

“That aircraft that landed on the Municipal Airstrip yesterday, the investigation is ongoing; the police is taking the lead with that investigation.  I cannot disclose the details with you because it’s a police [matter], police are in the lead with it.  But that aircraft has been transported and flown from the Municipal Airstrip to the Phillip Goldson Airport where our B.D.F. pilots flew it over here and we have the aircraft now for safekeeping.”