Hermosillo, Sonora — UPDATED: Civil Protection says they will continue to search for a small plane that went missing after leaving a Sonora airport December 24.
Authorities report the disappearance of the Cesna with two on board approximately 49 nautical miles (90.7 kilometers) after takeoff. After leaving the Hermosillo airport, the Federal Civil Aviation Agency says it lost contact with the plane. After it failed to reach its destination, it was declared missing.
Protección Civil de BCS says the search for the plane continues with two planes and two helicopters over the Gulf of Mexico, noting that their efforts have been extended over the Sea of Cortez. They say personal from the Secretaría de Marina Armada de México have joined in the search.
Two men, Carlos Omar Zarate Camacho and the pilot Alfonso Palomares Navarrete, were on board the aircraft. The plane was bound for Guerrero Negro in the state of Baja California Sur when contact was lost.
UPDATE: In a press release, the Secretary of National Defense reported the remains of the aircraft were found Thursday by military personnel during an air search.
“This Thursday, when carrying out aerial surveys with airport authorities of Hermosillo, military personnel located by land the remains of the Cessna 208 XA-TWN aircraft 30 km to the southwest of the town of Miguel Alemán,” they reported.
The plane was discovered crashed near a fishing community. The bodies of the pilot Alfonso Palomares Navarrete and his sole passenger, Carlos Omar Zarate Camacho, were found among the wreckage.