What is known about the Venezuelan plane that landed in Cúcuta?

This Friday, September 20, El Tiempo confirmed that around 5:00 pm The Venezuelan-registered plane took off from Camilo Daza International Airport in Cúcuta which made an emergency landing, as reported at noon by Aerocivil.

After a flight of approximately 25 minutes, the aircraft, registered YB3226, landed at the small airport of San Rafael del Piñal, in the state of Táchira, Venezuela.

The Cessna aircraft carried two pilots, a flight attendant, a major of the Venezuelan Army and a sergeant major of the Venezuelan Guard.

According to the sources consulted, the aircraft took off after the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry sent a letter to its counterpart in Colombia, in which they validated the identity of the crew.

Cessna flight path after taking off from Cúcuta

Plane with Venezuelan registration that landed in Cúcuta – Archive

The Venezuelan-registered aircraft landed on Friday morning, at about 6:30 am at the Cúcuta airport, “no one was expecting it, the radar alerted of its presence and Since there was no landing authorization, the Estela code was activated.“which refers to a violation of airspace,” a government source told El Tiempo.

According to the source, Colombian police officers surrounded the aircraft and inspected it, finding “two pistol-type firearms” that belong to the military.

The police report also stated that “no traces of drugs or (other) weapons were found. The plane was clean.”

Protocols

The five people on board the Cessna plane refused to get off the aircraft, apparently awaiting approval from the Venezuelan government, and remained on the plane for 8 hours.

At around 2:30 p.m. they agreed to get off, when about 10 police officers in a small bus approached and guarded them until they reached a point where they could have lunch.

They did this for an hour, during which time, apparently, the letter from the Foreign Ministry arrived and their takeoff was authorized.

The doubts left by the landing

The Civil Aeronautics issued a statement at midday on Friday explaining that aircraft YV3226 had been authorized to land and that “in accordance with the Chicago Convention, the right to make technical stops in Colombian territory is recognized, as well as the use of aerodromes in emergency situations, as is the current case, derived from a circumstance of confusion between nearby runways.”

According to sources, the pilot told Aerocivil that he took the wrong runway and instead of landing in the state of Táchira, he landed in Cúcuta.
Following the Aerocivil’s pronouncement, The matter remained strictly confidential until the Cessna’s takeoff was confirmed in the afternoon.

Grupo de Diarios América (GDA), to which El Nacional belongs, is a network of leading media outlets founded in 1991, which promotes democratic values, independent press and freedom of expression in Latin America through quality journalism for our audiences.