The two pilots who died when a private jet crashed in the Dominican Republic on the way to pick up St. Louis Cardinals legend Yadier Molina have been identified as two American aviators.
Pilot Erik Javier Diago and co-pilot Ruddy Ghazal were taking off from La Romana International Airport on Sunday when their US-registered Gulfstream G200 Galaxy executive jet ran into problems, airport officials said.
The pilots attempted an emergency landing shortly after take off, with the plane erupting into a massive fireball as it crashed in an open field.
Harrowing footage of the scene showed how the plane began skipping on the field while attempting to land, with the aircraft breaking apart and exploding as people nearby looked on in horror.
Diago and Ghazal were the sole occupants inside the plane, which was headed to Austin to pick up Molina and his family.
“My condolences to the pilots and their families,” the Cardinals legend wrote on Instagram. “This plane was on its way to pick up me, my family, and friends in Texas to return to Puerto Rico. This is all so heartbreaking.”
The plane had issued an emergency about 16 nautical miles southwest of the La Romana International airport when it started losing stability, officials said.
Emergency responders were quickly called to the scene to extinguish the flames.
“The US-registered aircraft, registered to an executive aviation company, had its two crew members on board: the pilot and co-pilot. No passengers were reported,” the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC) stated in a press release.
“We offer our sincere condolences and expressions of grief to the family and friends of the deceased in this delicate incident,” the airport said in its own statement.
Dominican authorities said they were launching an investigation into the cause of the crash with help from specialized agencies, including what exactly caused the failure that resulted in the emergency landing.
Molina spent his entire playing career with the Cardinals from 2004 to 2022.
The 10-time MLB All-Star catcher won two World Series with the team in 2006 and 2011 and is a nine-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner.
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