Their plane was reported missing at noon on Saturday and 27 hours later the worse was confirmed. At noon on Saturday, workers at the Hidden Valley Inn in the Mountain Pine Ridge Area reported that they had found the wreckage of the twin engine Islander that had left the Phillip Goldson International Airport at 10 on Friday morning. All three on board were dead. 7NEWS flew over the scene of the crash today and we have this story.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
This is how it ended for the ill-fated flight of the Blancaneux Lodge twin-engine Islander. These pictures show the plane tore through the area, possibly on a day just as foggy as this one when the picture was taken. It crashed here into the side of a mountain and was completely smashed. The mountain is on private property owned by Mount Pleasant Farm, approximately one mile northwest of Mount Pleasant, or three miles northeast of Blancaneaux Lodge
At 10:03, well known local pilot, 35 year old Luis Rene Tam, accompanied by newly weds Douglas Scratchley Jr., 36 years old and Christy Dye-Scratchley headed out to Blancaneux. The new couple - married on November 12th. In St. Petersburg Florida was coming from another resort in Belize. They had made bookings to stay a few days at Blancaneaux
The flight should have taken 35 minutes, but it never reached. Presently investigators believe bad weather, low visibility and gusty winds and a possible downdraft could have all contributed to the crash.
According to those in flying circles, he was on course but just too low. The conditions of the props and nearby trees tell investigators that the engines were functioning when they crashed. On scene evidence indicates that there was no fire, and all three are believed to have been killed by the massive impact of crashing headlong into the mountain.
The plane was owned by Blancaneux Lodge and Tam had been employed as their pilot since March. Relatives of Douglas Scratchley told us that the resort owner, American filmmaker Francis Ford Copolla has contacted them to say he will cover all funeral and related expenses. The Scratchley's become the third and the fourth tourists to die in Belize in the last month.
Funeral arrangements for Luis Rene Tam, will be finalized after the post mortem is conducted. He had been a pilot since 1991, and was the former chief pilot for maya island air. Tam came to prominence as a talented basketball player in the 80's and early 90's and was known as one of the best pilots in Belize, if not one of the all-around nicest people around.
