What happened
On a charter flight departing from Los Roques Island Airport Runway 07 at 11:32 local time, a twin engine aircraft began its journey toward Caracas. The flight was operated with two pilots and four passengers on board. Shortly after takeoff, air traffic control cleared the crew to reach an altitude of 6,500 feet.
Approximately seven minutes into the flight, the pilot communicated with ATC, stating an intention to climb to 5,000 feet and reporting a position roughly 10 nautical miles from the Gran Roque VOR. While maintaining a cruise altitude of 5,400 feet at a speed of 120 knots, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted the ocean.
Search and rescue operations were launched immediately, but no wreckage or survivors were located during the initial week of the search. In June 2013, debris was discovered at a depth of 75 meters. Following this discovery, five bodies were recovered on October 17, 2013, and the wreckage was eventually retrieved on November 25, 2013. The total number of six fatalities was confirmed following the recovery efforts.
Findings
No specific technical cause for the loss of control was detailed in the initial reports, though the aircraft's transition from stable cruise to an uncontrolled descent led to the total loss of the airframe and all occupants.