What happened
On September 21, an aircraft departed from runway 09L at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport at 11:29 local time. The flight was a positioning mission intended to travel to Havana, Cuba, for the purpose of collecting 21 passengers.
While cruising at an altitude of 6,000 feet over the Florida Strait, the crew experienced issues communicating with Cuban Air Traffic Control. During this period of radio silence, another aircraft flying at a higher altitude assisted by relaying messages between the flight and controllers. Approximately eight minutes after communication with ATC had been successfully restored, the plane vanished from radar tracking and went down in the ocean.
Search and rescue operations were launched immediately following the disappearance. However, after three days of searching, the mission was halted on September 24 because no debris or evidence of the aircraft could be located. All four crew members on board were presumed lost.
Findings
Because the wreckage of the plane was never recovered, investigators were unable to identify a specific reason for the crash. The official conclusion remains that the exact cause of the accident is undetermined due to the lack of physical evidence.