Black Box from fatal La Romana plane crash to be sent to U.S. for analysis

LA ROMANA, Dominican Republic — The black box recovered from the aircraft that crashed in La Romana last weekend has been removed and secured by authorities and will be sent to the United States for analysis as part of the ongoing investigation, according to the Dominican Republic’s Aviation Accident Investigation Commission (CIAA).

The aircraft involved in the crash, registration N318JF, was operating on a private international flight at the time of the incident.

On June 7, the GALX-model aircraft crashed in La Romana, killing pilot Erick Javier Diago, 39, and co-pilot Rudy Ghazal, 34. Both were experienced U.S. aviation professionals and members of the pilot team at Aibonito Aviation LLC.

CIAA President Pedro Alberto Peña stated that the flight recorder, commonly referred to as the black box, is a critical piece of evidence in determining the cause of the accident. The device will be transported to the United States because specialized equipment is required to extract and analyze its data.

“The black box is already in our possession and remains under official custody,” Peña told local media.

Authorities have not yet announced a timeline for the transfer, as the commission is still coordinating with the agencies responsible for conducting the technical analysis.

Investigators expect the information stored in the flight recorder to play a key role in reconstructing the aircraft’s final moments and helping determine the factors that led to the fatal crash in the eastern Dominican Republic.

Related articles:

Council of Captains calls for NTSB to lead La Romana plane crash investigation

Pilot and Co-Pilot killed in aircraft crash in La Romana while en route to Texas