What happened
On June 9, 1950, an aircraft departed Kingston, Jamaica, at 15:45 following an earlier arrival from Miami, Florida. The flight was operating under an instrument flight plan intended to take four hours, cruising at 9,500 feet toward Maracaibo, Venezuela, with Barranquilla, Colombia, designated as the alternate airport. At the time of departure, the aircraft carried enough fuel to sustain approximately five hours and thirty minutes of flight time.
Throughout the journey, the crew maintained regular radio communication with Kingston at 15:58, 16:58, and 17:52. During the 17:52 transmission, the pilot reported the aircraft's position as 14 degrees north latitude at an altitude of 9,500 feet, estimating an arrival in Maracaibo by 19:15. This specific report was intercepted by station Balboa in the Canal Zone and forwarded to the destination.
At 18:02, controllers at Balboa notified the flight that the Maracaibo radio station was closing its air-to-ground services and advised the crew to contact Balboa to close their flight plan upon arrival. The final communication from the aircraft occurred at 18:52, when the crew reported being over the coastline at 5,000 feet while descending under VFR conditions. Following this message, the aircraft failed to reach its destination and disappeared.
Findings
There were no fatalities or injuries recorded as the aircraft's fate remained unknown following its disappearance. Official investigators concluded that there was insufficient evidence to establish a definitive reason for the loss of the aircraft.