What happened
On the evening of September 29, 2004, an on-demand air taxi flight departed from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The aircraft, a N902GD, was tasked with transporting bank financial documents to a destination it never reached. Following the flight's failure to arrive, search and rescue operations located debris consistent with the aircraft floating in the Atlantic Ocean near coordinates 18 degrees 29 minutes north latitude and 066 degrees 27 minutes west longitude.
Radar tracking provided a detailed view of the aircraft's final moments. Shortly after takeoff, the plane climbed to 1,700 feet before descending to 1,300 feet. Between 18:40 and 18:50, the aircraft maintained an altitude of approximately 1,100 feet while traveling east along the northern coastline of Puerto Rico. The flight path then showed a series of altitude fluctuations, climbing to 1,400 feet at 18:55 and subsequently dropping to 1,000 feet. In the final minute of radar contact, the aircraft descended through 800 feet and 600 feet, eventually disappearing from radar at 18:59:18.
Findings
Meteorological analysis revealed that while conditions were visually clear at the time of departure, unstable weather was developing over the region. A low-level southeasterly flow and an upper air trough brought moisture and thunderstorms to Puerto Rico during the flight. Doppler weather radar indicated that a significant rain shower, measuring 45-50 dBZ, was positioned directly along the flight path. Data suggests that the N902GD penetrated this heavy rain shower just as radar contact was lost, which coincided with the period of the aircraft's final descent.