CMC – The pilot of a single engine aircraft that crashed in the Whitehall area of Tremlsonsworth near Highgate in St Mary, a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica, has died, rescue officials have said.
The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) and the police have confirmed that the plane went down in the hilly interior of that community and rescue teams including police officers, residents, firefighters and members of the Jamaica Defence Force have been combing the densely vegetated hills of Highgate in search of the aircraft and its occupants.
“We have lost one of the pillars of aviation in the community,” said the president of the Jamaica Aircraft Operators and Pilots Association, Edward Miller, as he confirmed the death of Major Dudley Beek, a former Commanding Officer for the Jamaica Defence Force Air Wing Reserves.
The other occupant of the aircraft, who has so far not yet been identified, is hospitalised, but the injuries are not life threatening.
The aircraft was reportedly spotted by residents of the area who assisted with the search and rescue mission in the hilly interior of Unity.
Media reports quote investigators as indicating that the aircraft may have developed engine trouble, leading to the crash.
