Questions Remain on Plane Landing

The suspected drug plane left abandoned on the Progresso/San Estevan Road on Tuesday morning, remained there up until this afternoon. A team from the Belize Defence Force was on the ground today inspecting and attempting to repair the scorched wings damaged during an attempt to set it on fire.  The jet will be taken to the B.D.F. hanger. The particulars of the jet show that it is a British Aerospace one-two-five origin, with a capacity to transport up to twelve thousand five hundred pounds in cargo. Residents in the area say the illegal landing took place around three on Tuesday morning. And it was hours later that persons commuting on the road, would spot the empty and abandoned jet. News Five’s Duane Moody was back in the area this morning and has the following report.

Duane Moody, Reporting

The twinjet mid-size business jet also referred to as the Hawker seven hundred jet that landed overnight on Monday on the San Estevan/Progresso Road remains on site in Orange Walk District. Today there was another landing in the area, though not illegal, because a B.D.F. aircraft which carried a team of four arrived in the area. Those persons were on the ground repairing the aircraft, purportedly to transport the abandoned jet to the B.D.F. air wing in Ladyville, Belize District.

But tonight a source close to News Five has shared new details on the suspected drug jet. Reports are that Orange Walk police received a phone call around two-fifty-three a.m. on Tuesday alerting them of the illegal landing, but didn’t reach the scene until two hours later. It was after five that morning by which time the contents of the plane had been removed and the pilot was nowhere in sight. Now, the San Estevan/Progresso Road is filled with potholes, but interestingly approximately a mile along that straight stretch of road had recently been upgraded. The question is by whom?  That stretch is the landing distance required for a jet. On the scene, the trees on either side of the road had been deliberately cut down, presumably to facilitate the landing.

Reports are that a mystery man has been seen prior to every landing since the beginning of the year. While we have been unable to confirm this, the evidence shows that this is the sixth known suspected drug plane to have landed in Belize since November, 2017; five were in this year alone. The cargos have never been located. Duane Moody for News Five.