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Ten die in Guatemalan plane crash, four survive

Ten people, including five Americans, were killed and four others were injured on Sunday when a propeller aircraft crashed on a hill near El Puente, east of Guatemala City, officials said.

“The accident happened on a hill near this village when the TG-JES flight crashed for unknown reasons. According to preliminary information at least 14 people were aboard,” Volunteer Fire Department spokesman Carlos Salazar said.

Nine Americans and five Guatemalans were traveling aboard the aircraft, Civil Aviation director Juan Jose Carlos said.

The pilot tried to make an emergency landing, Carlos said.

Five of the fatalities were US citizens, the other five were Guatemalans, including the pilot and copilot, Salazar said.

The four survivors, all Americans, were flown to Guatemala City hospitals, he said.

The aircraft, belonging to Aeroruta Maya company, was flying from the Guatemala City suburb of La Aurora to El Estor, in northern Izabal department, when it crashed on a hill near El Puente, in eastern Zacapa department.

Aeroruta Maya manager Richard Calloway said the pilot landed on a flat area but apparently lost control when the aircraft hit a pothole.

“The airplane did not explode on landing, but later. Spilled fuel on the ground caught fire. Otherwise nobody would have survived,” Calloway said.

A preliminary report by the Civil Aeronautics Agency said the pilot called in engine trouble about 45 minutes before crashing.

Sarah Jensen, a 19-year-old who survived the crash with minor cuts and bruises, said she and her family were headed to a village in the area of El Estor to build homes for CHOICE Humanitarian, a group based in West Jordan, Utah.

Her brother and father were killed in the crash, and her mother had serious burns and contusions. The family is from Amery, Wisconsin, she said in at the hospital.
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