A private plane on its way to pick up former Major League Baseball star Yadier Molina and his family and friends crashed on Sunday in the Dominican Republic. Neither the pilot nor the co-pilot of the plane survived.
According to a statement from the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation, the plane crash happened near the southern coastal town of La Romana. Officials identified the pilot and the co-pilot as citizens of the United States. There were reportedly no other passengers on board.
“An accident occurred on Sunday afternoon at La Romana International Airport involving the crash of a private aircraft, a Gulfstream 200, registration N318JF,” La Romana International Airport said in a statement. “The plane was crewed by pilot Erick Javier Diago and co-pilot Ruddy Ghazal, both of American nationality and the only occupants of the flight, which was headed to the city of Austin, Texas, in the United States.”
A few minutes after the private Gulfstream G200 took off, the pilots tried to return to the airport after reporting an issue with the aircraft. Video of the crash shared by baseball reporter and broadcaster Mike Rodriguez shows the plane missing the runway, skidding, hitting a bump and bouncing, then bursting into a giant fireball.
“We extend our sincere condolences and expressions of sympathy to the families and friends of those who died in this tragic incident,” the airport added.
The plane was on its way to pick up former MLB star Yadier Molina and his family and friends
After taking off from Puerto Rico, the aircraft stopped in the Dominican Republic to refuel before continuing on to Texas to pick up Yadier Molina and his traveling party, according to The Associated Press. Dominican authorities are reportedly investigating the cause of the accident.
“My condolences to the pilots and their families,” Yadier Molina wrote on social media. “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.”
On Friday, fans spotted Molina, who currently resides in Texas, in the stands watching his son Yanu, a catcher, compete for Austin’s Lake Travis High School in the UIL Texas 6A D1 state championship.