Recovering drug runner planes?

Wildchild · **Posted:** Sun Jun 24, 2012 12:39 pm

Does anyone know if its possible to recover the planes that were flown in and stayed there after there drug lives were over? I've been reading up on them alot and there's a bunch is South America, Bahama's and the Florida Everglades that seem to be in good condidion.

Of course they probably scrapped the ones in the everglades...

PbyCat-Guy · **Posted:** Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:54 pm

The DC-3 in the everglades near Punta Gorda, is that a former drug runner? What ones do you know of that are derelict?

marine air · **Posted:** Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:39 pm

I think they're too far gone, unless you can find a TBD Devastor, P-43 Lancer, F2A Buffalo, P-36 Hawk or something exceptionally sought after, it could cost more to retrieve than its worth.

ALOHADAVE · **Posted:** Sun Jun 24, 2012 8:40 pm

Here is one. If you want it.
See this link for pictures of the wrecked plane http://joeidoni.smugmug.com/Aircraft-Cr ... &k=LFZD4mH

Here is the story
On 12/6/77 the twin engine Piper PA-23-250 Aztec N5001Y was on a flight believed en route from Mexico to an unknown destination when it crashed due to fuel exhaustion onto a hillside in Nevada's Toiyabe National Forest. The two 29 year old men onboard survived the accident and were found two days later by motorists as they crawled injured along a road approximately nine miles from the crash site. They were transported to Nye General Hospital in Tonopah and treated for broken legs. When questioned by authorities, they stated that they had been involved in an automobile accident. Later when trackers came upon the wreckage of their airplane, they discovered that it was loaded with 725 pounds of marijuana. By the time the authorities had figured out what happened, the two injured men had been transported to the French Hospital in San Francisco, California. Sheriff's officers were able to collect enough evidence at the crash site for a Nevada Judge to sign arrest warrants and fix bail at $100,000. Evidence collected included finger prints, blood samples and in the suspects vacated Nevada hospital room, the key to the airplane.

CoastieJohn · **Joined:** Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:37 pm **Posts:** 1380

I backed the link up one click. This guy has found some interesting crashes.

http://joeidoni.smugmug.com/Aircraft-Crash-Sites

Wildchild · **Posted:** Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:08 pm

marine air wrote:

I think they're too far gone, unless you can find a TBD Devastor, P-43 Lancer, F2A Buffalo, P-36 Hawk or something exceptionally sought after, it could cost more to retrieve than its worth.

So far I know of a C-60 Lodestar, 2 Beech 18's, a C-46 underwater, and a few DC-3's an 4's underwater in the Everglades.

tinbender2 · **Joined:** Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:04 am **Posts:** 212

Ummm,

What is your definition of "good condition"?

I've had the "pleasure" of doing major work on a few of them, seized by the U.S. Govt and put into use with gov agencies.

The airframes were an absolute mess. All kinds of butchery done trying to add extra fuel cells, dump hatches, hidden compartments, etc. Whoever did the work had NO aircraft structures experience. A monkey, with basic hand tools could have done similar work.

What was really amazing, was the aircraft had been used by the govt for years and none of these issues had been corrected when I got the aircraft. There were lots of other issues like tweaked landing gear, and trim tabs set at extremes to make them fly reasonably straight & level. One was a Cessna that was supposed to have a wing washout of 3 degrees. The drug mules drilled off the wing skins and added extra fuel cells, then pop-riveted the skins back on. In doing so, they increased the washout to 6 degrees. I spent 40 hours building a jig to support the wing and change the washout back to normal.

I think many of the aircraft the drug runners start with are already on their last legs.
At my first FBO, a pair of Australians politely stole an Aero Commander that has been sitting in the weeds for 10 years, and had rolled into a ditch as well. They managed to get both engines running, stripped it out, and took off, with the FBO general manager racing after them at 100 miles an hour because they skipped out on the fuel bill. The aircraft was later photographed in South America, sitting on a reef in 4 feet of water.

P51Mstg · **Joined:** Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:36 am **Posts:** 1202

Besides condition and cost of recovery, you have a problem with ownership.........

The original owner still owns them. its going to be something closer to the way the Navy handles it than the USAF. If its stolen and insurance has paid out, the insurance company owns the aircraft.

So I'd deal with the title issues before going after one.

Mark H

Wildchild · **Posted:** Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:56 am

P51Mstg wrote:

Besides condition and cost of recovery, you have a problem with ownership.........

The original owner still owns them. its going to be something closer to the way the Navy handles it than the USAF. If its stolen and insurance has paid out, the insurance company owns the aircraft.

So I'd deal with the title issues before going after one.

Mark H

Well there drug runner planes, so they were abandoned an brought back into service. then abandoned again lol. Since they were stolen planes from south america, they probably dont have insurance

N3Njeff · **Posted:** Tue Jul 03, 2012 5:29 pm

When I worked in S fla, alot of the old pilots at the Bar on the field would talk about drug running adventures and how it was done in the old days of Miami Vice.

One I heard was of a Twin Beech leaving N. Perry that had a water bed matress on board as a extra fuel cell. On take off the matress slid to the tail. Witnesses said that they noted that something was obviously wrong with the aircraft and looked like he was going to make it until the gear went up.

One other was of a guy who build a Long Ez and painted it flat black. He flew it out of a remote strip on the west coast of fla. The Ez had two lights in the wing that aimed down and was used in the same manner as the Dam buster Lancasters in WW2. Would make runs on the deck to the islands at night. I had heard that the only way he was caught was when someone ratted him out to DEA.

Wildchild · **Posted:** Tue Jul 03, 2012 5:42 pm

One of my dads friends was using a Beechcraft Bonanza for drug running, and one night he just simply dissappeared an no one ever herd from him again.

A few years later a airboat was driving through a swamp and he hits the tail of his plane. What happened was he was set up and they lit lights in the swamp and let him crash land there. they came back in the morning an took the drugs an covered up the plane.

The Inspector · **Posted:** Tue Jul 03, 2012 8:51 pm

Modified as couple of 'questionable' airplanes while @ R/STOL in New Orleans in the mid 70's. A couple gutted 206's and others I'll get to. You knew what might be up when you looked down the fuselage and saw that there were 3 or 4 hastily done rattlecan paint jobs and you could see tape lines of several different, over painted N numbers, the cabin had one seat and was lined with linoleum flooring sheeting. The 'customer' paid in cash, and wanted to know 'can I over gross this and fly from a short, muddy dirt strip?'

Did a blunt nosed PA-23C and in addition to the R/STOL kit, we put METCOAIRE 18 gal. tip tanks and 25 gal. nacelle tanks, it had 2 seats and the back baggage door could be opened from inside. One of our former 'customer' airplanes turned up in the lagoon in New Orleans City Park one morning, out of fuel, crew, and most importantly, cargo.

That was a very very long day of 'chatting' with guys wearing Robert Hall suits, turns out we were in the clear as we didn't know any of those involved and while we strongly suspected what the end use was, without any 6 ft tall vegetative matter residue aboard when we did the mod, no one could do anything prior to delivery, and after delivery, not our problem.

We kitted a 337 pushmepullyou and installed a custom made 42 gallon fuel tank, it was shaped like a third row seat and was upholstered to match the cabin seats right down to seat belts, the fuel filler was a boat type flush cap mounted in the center of the right side medallion decal behind the cabin windows, we used two Stewart-Warner electric auto fuel pumps to transfer fuel into 'TEE' fittings spliced into the cross feed line. With that seat tank full the airplane was just at aft C.G. and a real handful until fuel was burned off and transferred, our pilot did the test flight/rigging check and never went near it again, someone we knew said they'd seen the same guy a few months later in Florida driving a brand new 421.

Somewhere in Mexico are two brothers who I grew up with, they disappeared back in the late 60's. The burned wreckage of their 182 was found several months later, to this day, no signs of Larry or Jim.

Wildchild · **Posted:** Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:03 pm

Incase you guys are wondering, this is the plane i'm thinking of...

http://bondtastic.blogspot.com/2011/06/ ... hamas.html

Dan Jones · **Posted:** Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:03 pm

Looks like a Lockheed Loadstar.

N3Njeff · **Posted:** Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:51 am

Yep to a loadstar. Sadly quite a few of my beloved Howard 500's had met the fate of drug runners back in the day.

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Recovering drug runner planes?

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