High-ranking officers among 16 killed in crash of Venezuelan military plan

[bemildred]

Breaking, I gather.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Sixteen people were killed when a Venezuelan military plane crashed in a mountainous region near Caracas on Friday, a top government official said.

Among the victims were high-ranking military officers, disaster agency director Antonio Rivero told the state-run Venpres news agency.

The cause of the crash wasn't immediately clear. Rivero said the plane crashed close to the town of El Junquito, about 40 kilometres east of Caracas.

Rivero said the death toll could rise because it was not immediately clear how many passengers were on the plane. It also wasn't clear how many of the passengers were military personnel and how many were civilians.

mytelus

[Judi Lynn]

1. Good grief! Doesn't this sound familiar?

I'll bet a lot of DU'ers remember this similar story story:

April 21, 2002 Sunday Final Edition
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A4
LENGTH: 412 words
HEADLINE: COPTER CRASH KILLS TOP VENEZUELAN OFFICER
BYLINE: John Rice The Associated Press
DATELINE: CARACAS, Venezuela
BODY:
Venezuela's new air force commander and three other generals have been killed in a helicopter crash, officials said Saturday, adding to the blows suffered by a military already split by a failed coup last weekend.
Even as President Hugo Chavez tries to reassert the control over a nation that he briefly lost last weekend, the country's largest labor federation on Saturday announced plans for a massive march on May Day. The same union sponsored a march that led to the April 11 coup.
Gen. Luis Alfonso Acevedo was among 10 airmen who were killed Friday when their helicopter crashed in forests, likely due to bad weather, the military said.
Acevedo, who took over as air force commander in post-coup shake-ups, was in one of three French-built Super Puma helicopters carrying top officers back from the installation of a new navy commander at Mamo, 20 miles north of Caracas.
A helicopter carrying the highest-ranking military officer, Gen. Lucas Rincon, darted through a gap in the mountains beneath clouds and landed safely, said Air Force Gen. Gustavo Romero Castillo, who was aboard Rincon's helicopter.
But "there was a sudden change in weather conditions" as the clouds moved in and the chopper carrying Acevedo's party crashed about dusk, Romero said.
There were no immediate signs of mechanical problems or foul play, but Gen. Gilberto Vallenilla said that the air force would investigate.
Also killed were Brig. Gens. Pedro Torres Fino, the air force operations commander, Rafael Quintana Bello, personnel chief, and Julio Cesar Ochoa, who worked for the general staff, and six lower-ranking personnel, including two who were piloting the craft.
Defense Minister Jose Rangel said it was "too early" to say who would replace Acevedo, who was named Air Force chief on April 17, replacing Gen. Regulo Alselmi, who seemingly played little or no part in the April 11-12 coup or the restoration of Chavez on April 14 after loyalist protests in which 33 people died.
At least five other top-ranking officers are under house arrest while courts consider possible charges against them. Officials have said that at least 80 were held at least briefly after the coup. The coup figurehead, businessman Pedro Carmona, also is under house arrest.
(snip/...)

http://www.internetpirate.com/acevedo.htm



Pedro Carmona, lecturing in Miami, chosen as Coup President in 2002.

Thanks for the story. They really should get better flying contraptions for their high-ranking officers.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Another article on the similar air tragedy in 2002, involving officers

Saturday, 20 April, 2002, 14:41 GMT 15:41 UK
Crash kills Venezuela air force chief


The newly appointed head of the Venezuelan air force, General Luis Acevedo, has been killed with several other officers in a helicopter crash.

The accident, which occurred late on Friday in mountains to the north-east of the capital, Caracas, has been blamed on bad weather.

General Acevedo was promoted just days ago as Hugo Chavez resumed the presidency of Venezuela, following a failed coup that removed him from power for two days.

The general had been returning to Caracas from a ceremony at a naval academy when the Super Puma helicopter crashed and burst into flames.
(snip/...)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1941183.stm

[quiet.american]

3. Hmn.

That's all I'll say -- hmn.