Summary
On June 9, 1950, an aircraft that had earlier flown from Miami, Florida, to Kingston, Jamaica, departed Kingston at 1545 hours en route to Maracaibo, Venezuela, with Barranquilla, Colombia, as an alternate. The flight was operated under an instrument flight plan at a cruising altitude of 9,500 feet. The aircraft never arrived at its destination.
Flight Details
The aircraft had arrived at Kingston from Miami at 1512 hours after departing Miami at 1045. After a brief turnaround, it departed Kingston with sufficient fuel for approximately five hours and thirty minutes of flight. The flight plan was filed personally by the copilot with the Kingston Air Route Traffic Control (ARTC) center.
Communications
Radio contact was established with Kingston at 1558, 1658, and 1752 hours. In the 1752 transmission, the crew reported their position at 1745 as 14 degrees north latitude, at an altitude of 9,500 feet, with an estimated time of arrival at Maracaibo of 1915. No longitude was given. This position report was intercepted by Balboa, Canal Zone, and relayed to Maracaibo. At 1802, Balboa advised the flight that the Maracaibo radio station was already closed for air-to-ground communications and would soon close for point-to-point, suggesting the flight contact Balboa to close the flight plan upon landing. The last communication from the aircraft occurred at 1852, when the crew reported being "over the coast line at 5,000 feet and descending VFR." No further transmissions were received, and the aircraft did not arrive at Maracaibo.
Investigation
The investigation into the disappearance of the aircraft was conducted by the relevant authorities. The official findings state that there was insufficient evidence to determine a probable cause for the incident.