FL FL- Glades County, Male, 21-35, UP1232, crashed a plane smuggling cocaine, maybe Alan A. Beck. Feb 1986.

[cheemsg]

3551UMFL

Date of Discovery: February 17, 1986
Location of Discovery: Glades County, Florida
Estimated Date of Death: 10 days prior
State of Remains: Skeletal remains
Cause of Death: Airplane crash

Physical Description​

Estimated Age: 21-35 years old
Race: Unknown
Sex: Male
Height: 5'6"
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Possibly had previous lower back trauma or occupational stress to the back

Identifiers​

Dentals: Unknown
Fingerprints: Unknown
DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items​

Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery​

The decedent's remains were located in a crashed twin engine aircraft, on Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation, 23 miles North of Moore Haven, Florida on February 17, 1986.

The plane was smuggling 880 pounds of cocaine from Colombia to Florida when the pilot, the decedent, crashed into a dense cabbage palm hammock on a foggy night with flashlights for runway lights.

The plane was registered to William Hilty and John Jeffers. The decedent's name was possibly Alan A. Beck.

 

[Hochman]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

NamUs file

 

[Kahrmii]

There is a small discussion about this on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldoe/comments/15p0ltr/plane_crash_doe

And a mention of Alan Beck in this very extensive justia.com case: United States v. One Parcel of Real Estate, 852 F. Supp. 1013 (S.D. Fla. 1994)

 

[kforbes862]

Certainly a unique case. It doesn't say anywhere how the possible name came from. Maybe he did have an ID but it was damaged in the fire and/or it cant be verified as his.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I’m guessing Hilty & Jeffers provided the pilots name. Perhaps LE couldn’t verify it was him. I wonder if Becks family was interviewed.

800 lbs is a lot of weight for that plane. I’m surprised they didn’t have boats poised out in the Atlantic or Caribbean to scoop up the dropped packages.

1986 was the height of the cocaine smuggling era in SE FL. So many cigarette boats trying to out run marine patrol, so many small planes dropping packages from the sky, Cadillacs on I-95 being stopped because they were doing the speed limit. Seriously, LE had their hands full back then with profiling the drug runners. JMO

 

[GraceG]

This was "before my time" in crash investigative work (new FO at the airlines then). Drug smuggling in aircraft is STILL alive and well, I've worked many cases in cities you wouldn't expect to see it. 880 pounds is a fair bit of weight but the 310 Navajo was unique in that it had a slightly higher useful load (fuel, people, cargo) than the standard Navajo. The “310” is really the standard Navajo with turbocharged 310-HP engines, it flew about 30 knots faster, had a higher single-engine ceiling and it could take off in less distance, plus, of course, the aforementioned extra useful load. Navajos were SO popular with this type of operation - one of my former students delivered a Navajo back in, I think 84, to someone in Florida who paid him in bundles of cash. Two weeks later the old owner got a call from the feds, the plane was found abandoned on a beach, still registered to him. They must have had a big enough haul they just left the plane where it landed, not being able to probably safely take off from that spot.

Anyway, with THIS accident plane they would have been over gross weight, but not by a huge margin with full fuel if they didn't have any other cargo, enough certainly to be a big factor if they lost an engine, as well as a negative impact on basic handling characteristing (hello, increased stall speed?) and their fuel consumption would have been higher than normal. Landing at night without lights on the plane and without runway lights went on more than you know. The outcome wasn't always pretty.

The pilots may not have even had US certificates, or could have had US certificates issued on the basis of a foreign license, or had fraudulent certificates. The licenses back in the 80's were paper, even a untalented forger could make up one that would look real if you got ramp checked or went through customs prior to making your haul.

The official report on this particular one (from: NTSB - Aviation Accidents - Index of Months )

Location: MOORE HAVEN, Florida Accident Number: MIA86FA080
Date & Time: February 17, 1986, Local Registration: N7EA
Aircraft: PIPER PA-31-310 Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Defining Event: Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Other work use

ON FEBRUARY 17, 1986 THE WRECKAGE OF N7EA ALONG WITH THE SKELETAL REMAINS OF
TWO PERSONS WERE FOUND. THE ACFT CRASHED INTO TREES CAUSING THE SEPARATION
OF THE OUTBOARD SIX FEET OF LEFT WING AND THEN CONTINUED CRASHING THROUGH
MORE TREES BEFORE COLLIDING WITH THE GROUND. THE ACFT CAUGHT FIRE DURING THE
IMPACT SEQUENCE AND WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY POST CRASH FIRE. FUEL
FITTINGS AND PUMPS USED IN ACFT FUEL SYSTEMS WERE FOUND IN THE CABIN AREA OF
THE WRECKAGE. ALSO THE CLOSURE MECHANISMS FOR SEVERAL MILITARY TYPE DUFFLE
BAGS WERE FOUND AND ONLY TWO SEATS WERE INSTALLED IN THE COCKPIT.
EXAMINATION OF THE ENGS REVEALED BOTH TO BE OPERABLE AT THE TIME OF THE
ACCIDENT. THE DATE AND TIME OF THE ACCIDENT COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE
ORIGIN AND DESTINATION OF THE FLT COULD ALSO NOT BE DETERMINED. THE ACFT WAS
LAST SEEN AT THE FT. LAUDERDALE EXECUTIVE ARPT ON 2/3/86.

Findings
1. (F) OBJECT - TREE(S)
2. (C) PREFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION - INADEQUATE - PILOT IN COMMAND
3. (C) IN-FLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION - IMPROPER - PILOT IN COMMAND
----------
Occurrence #2: IN FLIGHT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN/WATER
Phase of Operation: DESCENT - UNCONTROLLED
Findings
4. TERRAIN CONDITION - HIGH VEGETATION

 

[kforbes862]

The report says 2 fatal injuries? Who was the second person on the plane?

 

[The4TierBridge]

The report says 2 fatal injuries? Who was the second person on the plane?

He's referenced in the lawsuit linked above as just "Gomez." It says his death occurred "under suspicious circumstances" while the death of the pilot/"Alan Beck" is said to have been clearly explainable.

 

[GatorFL]

There was an Alan Beck charged with cocaine possession with the intent to distribute in Broward County FL in 1985. He never appeared and forfeited his bond. Arrest warrant still active.

He had 2 brothers, Gordon and Stephen. Gordon died in 2006 and in his obit it said Alan died before him: Obituary information for Gordon A Beck

Stephen was also in aviation and died in 2011, no mention of either brother in his obit. Stephen A. Beck

 

[GatorFL]

More good info at this link.

Accident Piper PA-31-310 Navajo N7EA, Monday 17 February 1986

ON FEBRUARY 17, 1986 THE WRECKAGE OF PIPER PA-31 N7EA, ALONG WITH THE SKELETAL REMAINS OF TWO PERSONS WERE FOUND AT MOORE HAVEN, FLORIDA. [AT APPROXIMATE CO ORDINATES 26°50′N 81°...

asn.flightsafety.org

Sounds like an easy solve, Glades is likely a small agency and perhaps that is why this case has not been cleared.

 

[GatorFL]

Another interesting link. 3 charged with murder related to this crash: 3 CHARGED WITH MURDER IN DRUG PLANE CRASH

Also Beck had been in jail in Colombia for drug related charges.