A routine crop-dusting flight turned deadly this morning near Spanish Lookout when an experienced pilot lost control of his aircraft and crashed in an open field near Mennonites Beach. The veteran aviator was reportedly spreading fertilizer at the time of the incident. Police and civil aviation authorities have since launched an investigation to determine what caused the aircraft to go down. News Five’s Shane Williams has the details.
Shane Williams, Reporting
“What you are seeing behind me is the initial stages of a joint investigation between the Belize Police Department, the Department of Civil Aviation and the National Fire Service. Their task will be to determine just what happened moments before that crop duster being flown by Henry Plett fell out of the sky and landed in this open field. We understand that just before eleven, Henry Plett was fertilizing the area just beyond those trees and he was doing a maneuver that he has done thousands of times in his over fifteen-year experience as a pilot when the plane suddenly fell out of the sky.”
Other agricultural pilots from the community who viewed footage of the crash but declined to appear on camera described the aircraft as nosediving, little chance for ejection or recovery before impact. Police officers, personnel from the Department of Civil Aviation, and members of the Spanish Lookout Fire Service quickly responded, securing the area as investigators began examining what caused the aircraft to go down. Among those who arrived at the scene was former Spanish Lookout Chairman Leonard Reimer, who had seen Plett only minutes before the crash.
Leonard Reimer
Leonard Reimer, Former Chairman, Spanish Lookout
“I saw him that was about twenty minutes before he crashed, or maybe thirty. Yeah. I left my home and I met him on the road. He was going with a motorcycle towards the airstrip to start to do his job with the plane. And I told my guy who was with me, I told him, “This is the plane pilot. He is now going to fly again. He’s very known as a very positive guy. He’s always a friendly and humorous guy. And the sad thing is that he was just getting prepared to get married and very shortly he was happy to look forward to a marriage and that’s very sad for the – for his girlfriend to experience this.”
Plett was no stranger to agricultural aviation. Fellow pilots say he had more than fifteen years of experience flying crop dusters and was well known throughout the farming community. Ironically, today’s tragedy comes almost exactly eight years after another serious accident involving Plett. On July sixteenth, 2018, he survived when another crop-dusting aircraft crash in the More Tomorrow area.
Joseph Myvette, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch (File: July 16, 2018)
“They met one Henry Plett who informed that whilst piloting a crop duster aircraft spraying rice fields in the area, the aircraft experienced mechanical problems and as a result he attempted to land the aircraft and in the process he crash landed. Shortly after, he was able to exit the aircraft, the aircraft burst into flames. He did not receive any injury.”
This time, however, there would be no escape for Henry Plett. According to those we spoke to in the community, Henry Plett will be remembered for his kindness, his work ethic, and his dedication to his community. Reporting from Spanish Lookout for News 5, I’m Shane Williams.
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