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On July 7, 2001, Morales was arrested
by the Broward Sheriff's Office in an area of Pompano Beach known for drug
sales. A deputy who pulled over Morales' 1993 Volkswagen Fox for running
a stop sign said he found pieces of crack cocaine and other paraphernalia
in the car. According to the deputy, Morales said he was in the area to
buy powder cocaine for a friend.
In November 2000, Morales was arrested
by Fort Lauderdale police after he tried to "return'' $345 worth of stolen
aviation parts to a local distributor. Instead of giving Morales cash,
store employees called police, who were investigating a string of airplane
burglaries. Morales was charged with dealing in stolen property after detectives
found that a receipt in his bag belonged to the burglary victim who actually
bought the parts. An additional charge of grand theft was tacked on when
detectives recovered other stolen items. Eddie Golson, president of Pro Freight
Cargo Services at Opa Locka Airport, said workers carted ``a pickup truck of
freight'' from the crash site Monday. " |
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That's absurd to think that this
pilot got in this airplane with eight other people and a truck full of
freight and expected this thing to fly,'' Golson said. "What the hell was
going on?'' A baggage handler was reported to have said the passengers
were a hurry to get back to the states to catch a connecting flight and
no one weighed the passengers or baggage. The NTSB and the FAA along with Cessna
Aircraft and Continental Engines had sent investigators down to the Bahamas
to assist the Bahamian government with their investigation. "No question,
this airplane was over gross weight when they took off,'' said John Frank,
executive director of the Cessna Pilots Association. ``Everything that's
coming out is pointing to what it looked like at the beginning -- this
was an overweight aircraft.''
The FAA reported that there are no
service difficulty reports or enforcement actions involving the downed
plane. However, the agency did report four administrative actions against
Blackhawk, three for technical violations and the most recent for maintenance
failures. The agency issued a correction letter April 28, 2000, citing
Blackhawk's failure to comply with manufacturer recommended maintenance
programs and FAA programs for its aircraft's engines or other parts, Blackhawk
failed to have a person in charge of maintenance with an appropriate certificate
and used unsanctioned techniques and equipment for repairs, she said. Records show that Blackhawk, listed
as the operator of the flight, is owned by Gilbert Chacón and his
son Erik, who founded the company in 1991. The small charter and tour business,
which recently moved to a small office next to the Lantana Airport, was
at one time based at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. But a company called
Skystream, whose corporate address is the same as the Pembroke Pines home
of Gilbert Chacón, is listed as the owner of the plane.
After speaking with a representative
of the Chacóns, investigators remain uncertain about the relationship
between the two companies. The Chacóns have not made themselves
available for comment. Federal court records indicate Gilbert Chacón
pleaded guilty in 1993 to one count of bankruptcy fraud. U.S. District
Judge Donald L. Graham sentenced Chacón to three years' probation
and a $3,000 fine for hiding the true value of his assets from creditors.
Chacón's probation ended in February 1996. Records are sketchy about the bankruptcy
and the subsequent criminal case, but former federal prosecutor Eduardo
Palmer, now a private litigator in Miami, said he remembered that one of
the primary allegations involved Chacón's hiding and moving valuable
airplane parts to deceive his creditors. The Chacóns have hired
Michael A. Moulis, a former FAA staff attorney. "Our condolences go out
to the families,'' Moulis said, in a statement. ``We're definitely cooperating
with authorities. Other than that, we will have no comment.''
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