Two Dead as Piper PA-31 Crashes on Takeoff at Venezuela's Paramillo Airport

Overview

• The twin‑engine aircraft, registration YV1443, crashed and exploded seconds after liftoff from Paramillo Airport in San Cristóbal, Táchira, on October 22.
• Venezuela’s civil aviation authority INAC confirmed the two fatalities and said airport fire and emergency teams quickly contained the blaze.
• The JIAAC has opened a formal probe to determine the cause of the takeoff accident, which destroyed the aircraft.
• Social‑media video shows the plane briefly become airborne before losing stability, veering and striking the runway, triggering a fireball.
• Banco Sofitasa president José María Nogueroles said the aircraft was his and that he flew on it the previous day; an initial witness suggestion of a tire blowout remains unconfirmed.