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Missing Couple Found in Plane
Crash Against the Volcan Irazú
The bodies of a U.S. couple
whose small plane had been
missing for three days were
found Tuesday near the Volcan
Irazú, the area where the
airplane disappeared, along with
the plane's wreckage.
The bodies of Conrad Wesley
Randell, 69, and his wife, Nancy
Randell, 68, both of Des Moines,
Iowa, were found with their
single-engine Beech D35 plane,
said Noemy Coto, spokeswoman for
the Cruz Roja (Red Cross) in San
José.
The couple took off from Panama
on Sunday morning along with a
group of 22 other planes, which
belong to the Baja Bush flying
club. They were headed to
Nicaragua, Coto said.
Authorities started looking for
the craft Sunday after officials
at the Irazú volcano national
park in central Costa Rica and
nearby residents reported
hearing a loud explosion in the
area.
It was 1:30pm yesterday that the
wreckage and its occupants were
discovered following two days of
hard work. The climatic
conditions and the airplane's
light colouring made the job
even more difficult according to
Vernor Piedra, in charge of the
Búsqueda y Rescate de Aviación
Civil.
The cause of the accident will
take some time to determine, but
for now Aviación officials say
the weather was the probable
cause, as the location of the
plane only shows a small
deviation from the flight plan.
Though rescue workers were able
to reach the aircraft at 1:30pm,
it was at 9:50am that a rescue
crew observed a metallic object
in the distance, south of the
television channel 13 antenna
tower.
The bodies will be removed from
the scene of the accident today
(Wednesday) to be taken to the
Forensic Laboratory in Heredia.
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