Wild video footage captured the plane hitting the ground and sliding along for several metres, before bursting into flames
Rachel Vickers-Price UK and World News Reporter
00:28, 08 Jun 2026Updated 05:33, 08 Jun 2026
A plane crash at La Romana Airport in the Dominican Republic(Image: X)
A plane crash has been caught on camera, with footage capturing the plane hitting the ground and sliding along for several metres, before bursting into flames.
Local media reported that the plane was bound for Austin, Texas, in the United States before it declared an emergency about 16 nautical miles southwest of La Romana and turned back toward the airport.
Crew members aboard the doomed aircraft reported mechanical problems during take-off and, as a result, turned around and made their way back to the airport for an emergency landing.
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The aircraft was completely destroyed in the crash and ensuing explosion.
The shock incident claimed the lives of both crew members on board, according to Dominican newspaper El Día. They have been named as American nationals Erick Javier Diago and Rudy Ghazal. No passengers were reported to be on board.
In the clip, a jet is seen moving at high speed along the ground near the runway(Image: X)
In the horror footage, shared to social media, the grey business jet can seen moving at high speed along the ground near the runway, in the middle of an emergency landing. It can be seen kicking up massive clouds of dirt and dust as it veers off its path, while parts of the fuselage can be seen beginning to break away under the immense force.
Moments later, a fire suddenly erupts from the rear section of the jet. As the plane continued to slide and disintegrate, the fire triggered a larger explosion.
The video ends on the wreckage engulfed in flames with a massive plume of thick, black smoke billowing into the air over the airport grounds, with emergency vehicles racing toward the fiery remnants of the plane to control the blaze.
The US-registered private jet was a Gulfstream G200; a medium-to long-range executive jet manufactured in 2004 by Israel Aircraft Industries. As per aviation records seen by the Mirror, the aircraft belonged to Aibonito Aviation LLC, a private aviation company based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The initial explosion(Image: X)
A plume of black smoke rises into the sky(Image: X)
It was fully destroyed in the crash and subsequent explosion.
The aircraft has been identified by Dominican aviation officials as a GALX with US. registration number N318JF, which was returning to La Romana International Airport in southeastern Dominican Republic
The Dominican Civil Aviation Institute and the country’s Aviation Accident Investigation Commission said emergency protocols were activated and investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash.