Two Americans, a Dominican, and three others were killed in the crash of a single-engine plane in Haiti on Friday night. The bodies were recovered by a group comprising missionaries and a pilot from Jacmel, in southeastern Haiti. One of these rescuers spoke exclusively to the Miami Herald.Andy Faller was the leader of a search team to find the South Florida registered plane's wreckage. He said that they had driven up a mountain for four hours and then trekked three hours on foot. They arrived at the site at 5:05 a.m. on Saturday and recovered the bodies. They then took the bodies to Petit-Gove, where they were taken to their final destination at 9 p.m.Faller explained that the recovery occurred after local police found the area too difficult for them to reach and the National Office of Civil Aviation sent a helicopter to assist but was unable to land due to cross winds from Tropical Storm Elsa. The bodies were recovered by volunteers, including the pilot, who drove up in a Land Rover.Faller stated that another group of missionaries and Jacmel pilots arrived in the area and were able to remove the bodies. It was no easy task. It was not an easy task.Kiskeya Airways leased the aircraft. It left Port-au-Prince Friday at 6:57 PM, bound for Jacmel. It was due to arrive there at 7:09 pm. The aircraft crashed in Logne, a remote and mountainous area of Beausjour.The Haitian authorities confirmed the crash but haven't provided any information about how the plane, which has a U.S. registration N8694N and is registered to Citadelle Holdings LLC in Palmetto Bay (Citadelle Holdings LLC), may have crashed.Faller stated that he flew with the same pilot on the same plane a few weeks back. I had been told by him that he was from Venezuela and had spent two years in Haiti.Sources close to the incident confirmed that the pilot was a Venezuelan pilot and had an expired medical certificate. The Miami Herald reached out to Haitian aviation officials for clarification about the pilot's qualifications to fly in Haiti.Continue the storyThe mountain area where the single-engine plane crashed in the village of Mathurin in the commune Logne, is a rural and mountainous region of Beausjour, Haiti. All six passengers on board were killed.Faller stated that interviews with three witnesses helped shed light on the tragedy. The story was told by three witnesses: a young man, a woman, and an older man. They all shared the same story but did not know what the other had said.They claimed that the plane had crashed into a ravine, and was too low to fly.It was just below the mountains to each side. Faller stated that it looked like the plane was trying gain altitude, but was having difficulty. It was not following a straight line, but the left wing began to dip, then it dipped again, then it landed on the right. It was beginning to gain altitude, and then it suddenly went nose down. The rock cliff that rose out of the ravine was close to its top, and it fell about 200 feet. However, it was about 600 feet higher than the top.Faller stated that after the plane crashed, it rolled. Witnesses also reported that an American jumped out of the plane just before it struck the mountainside. John Miller would be the American and it makes sense considering how we found him.Miller, a Wisconsin evangelist, was found just a bit from the plane, slumped over rocks, and face down.Faller stated that everyone, except for a Dominican passenger, died instantly.Faller stated that a young Dominican man who was alive at the time was able to speak por favors, but he died shortly after saying it.Faller stated that Trent Hostetler (35), who is the administrator of Gospel to Haiti was the only one still aboard the mangled plane.According to a pilot who is familiar with Haiti's mountainous terrain, the pilot had either engine problems, tried to lower the plane somewhere in the steep valleys or made a mistake and tried to climb out after realizing his error. Officials in Haiti have confirmed that an investigation is underway.It is still a lot to process. Faller stated that it doesn't feel real. The plane was badly damaged when we reached the wreckage.Faller, who is part Christian Witness Mission, another mission organization in the region, said that he heard about Hostetler's disappearance from a WhatsApp group that missionaries in Haiti are using.Faller stated that his wife had posted a message asking for help in finding Trent. People began to share messages on another group that there was a rumor of a plane having crashed.Faller confirmed the crash and said that Miller, aged 43, and Hostetler, 35 were aboard. Trevor Byers and Brian Beachy were also on board, and they gathered a group of locals to assist in the search.The volunteer search team discovered that the plane was located in a mountainous area of Haiti, just outside the capital. Faller found someone who knew the location of the plane's crash and, with the assistance of another local Haitian they set out on the steep mountain road. It was 10:30 p.m.We drove as far as we could, and the police were just arriving. He said that we reached the top of the ravine, where the plane had crashed, by walking. We were worried about the approaching hurricane, so we discovered another route that was easier to access the site. It could be reached by dirtbike.Brian Beachy decided that he would walk back to where the vehicles were left and then drive them out and around the other side of the road. He said that if it began to rain, we wouldn't be able get the vehicle off the road.Faller stated that the police who had been with us decided that it was too difficult to reach the site, and also left us.They waited for daylight to send a team down the ravine towards the plane.He said that Trent and John were confirmed to have been on the plane.It appeared impossible to recover the bodies of the victims before Elsa arrived. Elsa was heading to Haiti as a Category 1 hurricane, but was later downgraded and made a tropical storm. Faller stated that another group of local missionaries tried to reach the team by the same route they used, but was forced to turn back.He said that a group of locals helped to remove the bodies from the ravine and wreckage after organizing them.
