In the wake of a deadly private plane crash near the Dominican Republic’s La Romana International Airport, the country’s Council of Captains is pushing for a radical shift in how the incident is investigated: the union is formally requesting that the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) take the lead on the probe, arguing that only an independent international process can deliver transparent, trusted results for victims’ families and the aviation community at large.
The Sunday crash claimed the lives of two pilots flying a Gulfstream G200 business jet registered as N318JF. In an official statement released this week, the Council of Captains first extended its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased pilots, before laying out its formal request for international oversight of the investigation.
Union leaders say their demand is grounded in existing international aviation regulations: recent updates to Annex 13 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) framework explicitly permit the transfer of accident investigation authority to another nation or independent body when specific conditions are met. Those conditions are satisfied in this case, the union argues, not only because of longstanding local credibility issues but also because the crashed jet carries United States registration.
The core of the union’s concern stems from a years-long unresolved aviation disaster in the Dominican Republic. In December 2021, a fatal crash involving a Helidosa aircraft claimed lives, and more than four years later, no final public investigative report has been released. That lack of closure, the Council of Captains says, has sown widespread doubt across the country’s aviation sector and left victims’ relatives without answers, eroding trust in local investigative capacity.
This case is not an isolated exception either, the union notes. It would mark the second fatal aviation accident involving U.S. citizens in the Dominican Republic that remains under active investigation, making independent oversight even more critical to upholding global standards.
The Council of Captains has made clear that it will maintain close, ongoing monitoring of the crash investigation process, and will continue pressing for a probe that adheres to the core principles of full transparency, complete independence, and public accountability. The union’s call has put a spotlight on longstanding concerns over investigative accountability in Dominican aviation, and sets up a potential decision for Dominican authorities on whether to cede lead investigation authority to the U.S. NTSB.