By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

According to Red Cross report, early morning the two Argentinian pilots, surnamed, Sapun and Bareira, were flying a  Cessna 150L type twin-engine plane registered in Florida (#N69416G).

They had taken off from the Tobias Bolaños Airport* in Pavas and their flight plan indicated that they were headed first to Panama and that they were then to make several stops before arriving in Argentina.
 
For reasons that are under investigation, the plane lost altitude and crashed in an empty lot next to the school in west Sabana*. The plane struck a tree there and split in two.

Both pilots managed to leave the plane on their own and were immediately assisted by neighborhood residents. Firemen and the Red Cross were on the scene quickly.

According the the fire department, there were no other injuries or property damage reported. "At this moment we are making sure that there is not an fire because of the fuel spill," said the firemen.

The Red Cross monitoring department reported that both pilots are in stable condition and were taken to Hospital Mexico*

According to Cessna Aircraft Co., the Cessna 150 is a two-seat tricycle gear general aviation airplane that was designed for flight training, touring and personal use. The 150L had the longest production run of any 150 sub-model, being produced 1971–74.

This is the second small plane accident in two months, as A.M. Costa Rica reported on March 5, a Seneca type twin-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff.

On that case the pilot, surnamed Salazar, and the co-pilot, surnamed Castro, declared an emergency saying that the plane was losing altitude rapidly. They requested immediate assistance.

Guillermo Hoppe, Director of Civil Aviation, said the pilots of the small plane reported that their controls were not responding shortly before the crash.

The plane with TI-AOP plates had taken off from Tobias Bolaños Airport*  at 9:10 a.m. bound for Quepos in Puntarenas*. Hoppe said that shortly after takeoff, “the pilot tried to turn to the north, however, the pilot reported to the control tower that he was having a major problem and that they were falling."

The plane crashed in an open area on the edge of the Alfredo González Flores Bridge*, in the Ulloa district of the province of Heredia.

More than 20 rescuers from the Red Cross and 10 emergency vehicles responded to the crash site. They found the airmen pinned in the twisted metal of the plane.

According to Guido Vasquez, Operational Coordinator of the Red Cross,  "we worked with approximately 20 people from the Costa Rican Red Cross, as well as the support of police officers, firefighters, Civil Aviation officials and private companies that also collaborated in the emergency and they were able to find the people with life, both with important injuries. The rescuers gave first aid attention in the area."

Conditions at the crash site made the rescue work difficult. The area was sloped with heavy vegetation. Rescuers took the victims to the hilltop where a helicopter from the Air Surveillance Service provided transportation to local hospitals. Castro was taken to Hospital Mexico* and Salazar was transported to Hospital del Trauma*.

The Red Cross monitoring department reported that both pilots are in stable condition. "In the case of Castro who is in Hospital Mexico, he has a fractured leg and a wound at his eyebrow. In the case of Salazar, he has an exposed fracture in one of his ankles, so he had surgery in the Trauma Hospital. "