Eleven days after fashion icon Vittorio Missoni’s plane disappeared over the Atlantic, a disturbing new detail has emerged: Both the pilot and the airline of that plane were not licensed to operate.
Pilot German Marchan, 72, let his license expire back on November 30, 2012, according to Italy’s Reppublica paper. The airline did not yet have the certificate required for aircraft operators.
Missoni’s plane, a BN-2 Islander went off the radar between Caracas and Los Roques, Venezuela, shortly after takeoff at 11:32 am on January 4. It was carrying two crew members and four Italian tourists, including Missoni, CEO of his family’s fashion company.
Asdrubal Bermudez, president and owner of the company Transaereo 5074 which owns the disappeared plane, said while the company hadn’t yet received certification as a small airline the plane had met all safety requirements. The pilot’s psychological-physical fitness certificate expired on Nov. 30. Bermudez said that pilot Merchan was an experienced pilot for Venezuelan airlines as well as the state oil company.
Another pilot who took off shortly after their flight said he saw their plane disappear into a cumulus cloud, where he believes it was struck by lightning, but the family has held out hope that the Missoni designer and plane’s five other passengers were kidnapped.
The son of Guido Foresti, one of the other passengers, reportedly received an ominous text from his phone days after the supposed crash and police are still investigating.
As Page Six has reported, the family is also demanding to know why the plane was 44 years old – one of the oldest Islanders still flying in the world – and has had mechanical problems in the past.