The Beech 1900CA plane that crashed into a Southwest Miami-Dade field had its left engine propeller overhauled a week before at Aviation Propeller at Opa-locka Executive Airport. The propeller was then installed by Atlantic Aviation at Miami Executive Airport in Kendall on Feb. 9, two days before the crash, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane, which was fueled at Reliance Aviation at Miami Executive, was on its first flight after the overhaul and installation.
The preliminary findings by the NTSB — which could change upon receipt of a final report, which could take more than a year, said Eric Weiss, a spokesman for the NTSB — revealed that one of the pilots called air traffic control to report an engine failure just under two minutes after taking off Feb. 11 from Miami Executive Airport, 12800 SW 145th Ave.
The pilot executed a 180-degree turn toward the runway but before he could make it back to the runway, the plane hit a utility pole before crashing in a field, two miles west of the airport, at Krome Avenue (Southwest 177th Avenue) and Southwest 144th Street.
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A representative from Atlantic Aviation said the firm would have no comment while the investigation was underway.
The twin-engine airplane belonged to the Venezuelan unit of Brink’s security firm. Four people were on board, all of whom died. Company officials identified the victims as pilot Raul Chirivella, co-pilot Roberto Cavaniel and passengers Juan Carlos Betancourt and Francisco DiMarco. Chirivella was a 25-year employee of the firm; the other three men were not employed by the firm, a company spokesperson said.
The plane was in Miami for maintenance, said the Brink’s spokesman. The 21-seat airplane, manufactured in 1988, was heading to Venezuela, with a refueling stop planned in the Turks and Caicos islands in the Caribbean.
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