Aurelio Martínez dead: Honduran musician and politician among 12 killed in plane crash off Roatán coast

The British-made Jetstream 41 aircraft, operated by Aerolinea Lanhsa Flight 018, crashed into the sea just half a mile from the island’s coast while en route to La Ceiba on the mainland. The aircraft suffered an “apparent mechanical failure,” according to police.

Carlos Padilla, a civil aviation official, confirmed: “The plane made a sharp turn to the right of the runway and fell into the water.”

A fisherman who witnessed the crash described the terrifying moment to HCH television, saying: “The plane almost fell on us. I was fishing.”

The flight was carrying 15 passengers, two pilots, and a flight attendant. Emergency response teams rescued five survivors, while one body remains missing, according to police, who shared footage from the rescue operation on social media.

Martínez, 55, was known as one of Central America’s most gifted performers and a prominent figure in the Honduran Garifuna music scene in the 1990s. He later made history as Honduras’ first Black congressman, serving from 2006 to 2010.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro de Zelaya expressed her condolences and confirmed that emergency responders and the Red Cross had been immediately deployed. “May God protect people’s lives,” she wrote.