|
S
From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

U.S. opens criminal probe into Aaliyah crash

November 21, 2001

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The U.S. Department of Transportation has opened a criminal investigation into the Aug. 25 plane crash in the Bahamas that killed pop singer Aaliyah, seizing records from the planes owner and his company.

Agents from the department’s Office of Inspector General took business records and computer hard drives last week from the offices of Blackhawk International Airways at Lantana Airport and from the home of owner Gilbert Chacon in Pembroke Pines, Fla., authorities said. 

A Nov. 9 search warrant affidavit by Special Agent Carlos Vazquez, obtained Tuesday by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, accuses Chacon of lying to officials, using false documents and withholding other documents, including the aircraft’s maintenance logs. Officials have not found records concerning the planes maintenance history or information that would show how much weight the plane was carrying. Vazquez stated that he thought Chacon had them in his possession. 

Chacon, 56, could not be reached for comment Tuesday at Blackhawk International Airways or at home. 

The twin-engine Cessna 402B crashed shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas on Aug. 25, likely the result of being overloaded and unbalanced, investigators have said. All nine passengers, including R&B star Aaliyah and pilot Luis Morales, died in the crash. 

Aaliyah, already prominent in the music industry and making the jump to movies, had been in Marsh Harbour to do a video shoot. Morales told his neighbor before the trip that the flight would involve a famous singer and that the plane’s seating would be reconfigured and a seat added to accommodate eight passengers, according to the Vazquez affidavit. 

The 10-seat aircraft lifted off the runway, then immediately plummeted nose-down, crashing on the side of the runway. No mechanical problems were found in the engines or the airframe. 

The warrant accuses Chacon of lying about two things: the existence of a lease between himself and Morales and that he gave Morales the planes maintenance logs before the flight. 

Such records either do exist and have been withheld due to their perceived incriminating nature, or have been secreted and/or destroyed for the same reason, Vazquez wrote in the warrant.

 He said Chacon may be withholding documents to protect himself against lawsuits from the crash, insurance claims or to block regulatory and administrative actions against him.

 Chacons attorney, Michael Moulis, could not be reached for comment. 

Blackhawk has surrendered its operating certificate to the Federal Aviation Administration.

 Owen Gassaway, owner of Florida Airmotive, the company that loaded fuel onto the Cessna 402B for its fatal trip, said workers told hima  Palm Beach County sheriffs car was parked outside Chacons hangar last week. Chacons other plane remains inside. 

They told me later the police were here, but I didnt see anything on the door, no tags or anything like that,” Gassaway said Tuesday.

 This is the first time officials have accused Chacon publicly of criminal negligence in the crash.

 The affidavit said the criminal investigation has been going on since mid-September. No formal charges have been filed.

 Morales father, Luis Morales Sr., said his son had virtually no money to buy or lease a $250,000 airplane, according to Vazquez.

 He said Chacon called him two days after the crash and said he needed the contract he had with Morales Jr. for insurance purposes.

 Morales Sr. said he knew of no deal between Chacon and his son concerning the airplane.

 He said a search of his sons car and apartment did not turn up the airplanes repair records or any documents between Chacon and Morales to lease or buy the plane.

 The investigation revealed that the pilot Morales told his neighbor and father a few days before the crash that Chacon would pay him in cash on a per-flight basis. But Morales was not authorized by the FAA to fly as the single pilot for Blackhawk or Chacon, and he had not passed the FAAs written test or a check ride to pilot the plane.

 In addition, the investigation revealed that a declaration form filed by Morales with Bahamian Customs listed Blackhawk as the owner or operator in handwriting that looked like Chacons.  It differed from what Morales wrote on the form listing the names of passengers.

After the crash, the warrant said, Chacon told an investigator that his company was not the legal operator of the flight. It was not my flight, Chacon reportedly said. 

He also told the investigator that he had leased the plane to Morales and that he did not have any of the planes records.

Investigators question whether a lease ever existed.

In late August, Chacons attorney, Michael Moulis, told the FAA for the first time that the lease had never been signed.