As they enter the airfield they hear the sound of an aircrafts engine, with the pilot ready to take off as soon as they are on board. The police officer stops the patrol car a few yards away from the plane where the pilot is waving them on board.
Jason then turns to the police officer. “Get him to the nearest hospital and fast!”
With sirens blaring the vehicle races out of the airfield, rushing Danny to the hospital emergency.
Jason calls out to Kate, “come on! Get inside, we’re losing time!”
Once inside the Piper PA 38, the pilot Sean Denver greets both Jason and Kate. Ready to take off, he pushes the throttle forward increasing speed, lifting the light aircraft swiftly into the night sky.
Once they reach altitude; the pilot then makes contact with the control tower over the radio, requesting the flight path to the Yucatan. Jason intervened, questioning if any other light aircraft is visible to them on radar. To his dismay, no other aircraft was reported to be seen heading in that direction.
Jason was certain about what he had heard back on the island, so he urged the pilot to continue the flight to the Yucatan. He had a gut feeling that he was right about Tony’s words.
Just a few thousand feet above the sparkling sea, Jason was caught in memories when Sally was just a young girl. He smiled at the times when he remembered she would ask him about ancient cultures, wanting to follow in his footsteps as an archaeologist. It was later on in her early teens that she would choose anthropology instead. Sally used to tease him that it was much more interesting to study ancient civilization than dig up dirt all day.
Jason always had a good relationship with his daughter Sally, making sure she had everything she needed in life to reach her goals. Now everything seemed to be going in the opposite direction, and he would do anything necessary to bring his daughter back, even if it meant giving up his life for her.
Kate could see lights appearing on the horizon after nearly an hour of flight time. Not knowing what the lights were she asked the pilot, who confirmed they were approaching Cuba.
Probably with a few hours left until dawn, Tony had flown undetected under the cover of darkness and was now approaching the Yucatan Peninsula.
Due to the higher grounds of the Yucatan, he had to increase in altitude and was immediately spotted on radar by the air traffic control tower. The Mexican law enforcement had contacted the control tower, warning them of any approaching unidentified aircraft and to report back to them immediately if they see anything.
Exhaustion was creeping up on Tony after an hour and a half of flight time. It had slipped his mind to recheck the instrument panel before leaving Cuba air space, failing to notice they were low on fuel.
The control tower was continuously trying to make contact with the aircraft, but without success.
“This is the Yucatan control tower. You are entering Mexican airspace, please identify yourself!” came a Mexican voice over the radio.
Tony kept quiet, not responding to the towers requests.
Things were not looking good when one of the engines suddenly stopped, starved from the lack of fuel. Travis was the first to notice something was wrong when the aircraft tilted to one side, and when a warning light began to blink on the instrument panel.
“Tony! The left engine has stopped running. You have to land!” he said.
Stacy and Krissy began to panic as they heard his words. Tony adjusted the aircraft, keeping it as steady as he can on one engine. The fuel gauge was now on the empty mark, and he was expecting the second engine to die down at any moment now. But to his surprise it kept running for at least another ten minutes, when all of a sudden, complete silence overtook the cabin. The plane was now gliding, descending foot by foot.
The two girls were screaming as the treetops rushed past them, but not a sound came from Sally. She remained totally calm, smiling to herself as if she had no care in the world as to what was happening around her. Travis looked back at her amazed, when she closed her eyes and tilted her head back.
Tony was trying his best to keep the plane steady as he flew over the dense jungle. He looked out of the cockpit window seeing nothing but trees all around them. It happened so quickly that it left him no time to see if there were somewhere safe to make an emergency landing. Then suddenly the aircraft wings were slicing through treetops, branch after branch at over eighty miles an hour. Tony expected the worst as he let go of the flight lever embracing himself for a rough landing. Branches and leaves smashed through the aircraft’s windshield and side windows. The sound was deafening as the plane plowed through the trees on its descent, when eventually it came to a sudden halt, nose first into the soft ground.
Then there was silence again, sickening silence mingled with the smell of blood. Travis was the first to regain consciousness. His forehead was bleeding, blood running down his face and onto his lap. He went to see if Tony was alright, pushing him back into his seat. He was breathing and seemed to be okay. After a while, he also regained consciousness. Both he and Travis then exited the aircraft and opened the passenger doors. Stacy and Krissy were not so fortunate. Thick tree branches penetrated the fuselage causing multiple wounds to both girls who died before the airplane came to a standstill. Sally was lucky enough to be sitting between the two girls that shielded her from the tree branches, cushioning the blows. She was wide awake and still remained calm as Travis helped her out of the wreckage.
At the aircraft control tower, Miguel Herrera was keeping watch on his screen. He followed the path of the Piper aircraft which was confirmed earlier by the FBI that the plane was the one they were on the lookout for. Miguel was ordered to continue watching its every move and to report if it altered its flight path in any way. Then, without warning, the small green dot on his screen unexpectedly disappeared from view. He tried again to make contact with the pilot, but like before, no reply came back.
Leaving his post, Miguel went to inform his superior about what had just happened. Jose Costa followed Miguel to his computer screen, making sure it was not an error. Both men knew it meant only one thing that the aircraft must have gone down somewhere in the jungle some ten miles from the Chichen Itza temples.
As Jason and Kate’s flight flew over Cuba, their pilot received an urgent message over the radio. He transferred the call to Jason’s headset, who was now speaking to Matthew Berks.
“Jason! It’s Chief Berks. I’m afraid we have some bad news.”
“What is it Chief?” Asked Jason.
Matthew paused for a few seconds. “You were right about Tony and the others flying to the Yucatan. It seems the plane has gone down somewhere in the jungle!”
Jason couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Did I hear you right? You’re saying the plane Sally was on has now crashed?”
“Yes! I’m contacting the Mexican authorities to see if they can organize a search and rescue team,” said Matthew.
Out of frustration Jason removed his headset as he banged his fist against the aircraft dashboard.
“They best be alive so I can beat the crap out of that son of a bitch!”
Two Bell helicopters were dispatched from the nearest search and rescue depot, covering a twenty mile radius. No smoke was seen above the jungle treetops making the search even more difficult in the deep jungle.