UPDATED AT 7:20 p.m. to CORRECT name of Agape Flights’ CEO.
UPDATE 5:50 P.M. 2/6 JEREMIE, Haiti. (WWSB) – Agape Flights confirmed Friday there are no survivors from a plane that crashed in western Haiti after losing contact Thursday afternoon.
The Venice-based nonprofit announced the tragic news on social media Friday after search teams located the wreckage in a mountainous region. The plane had disappeared from radar Thursday while flying over the area.
“What we share with you is profound sorrow. And it’s that we do not believe that there were any survivors,” said Agape Flights’ CEO Allen Speer in a video posted on social media.
“Our hearts are broken. We grieve deeply for the families of the pilots who are now enduring an unimaginable loss.”
Weather conditions in Haiti were challenging Thursday as a cold front moved through the Caribbean region. Meteorologist Bob Harrigan said about 12 cold fronts per season reach Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Agape Flights preparing to deliver aid to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa destruction
Satellite imagery from Thursday showed a storm system developing over eastern Cuba, with energy moving through western Haiti near Jeremy, close to where the wreckage was found. The mountainous terrain in the area reaches nearly 7,000 feet and can cause turbulence problems for aircraft.
The plane what crashed was a 1980 Embraer 110, also known as a Bandeirante. The twin-engine turboprop can carry about 3,000 pounds of cargo.
Dan Diggins, a retired commercial pilot and former FAA air safety investigator, said the Pratt and Whitney engines on the aircraft are among the most reliable in the world.
Agape’s website states the aircraft can fly missions day and night under both visual and instrument flight rules.
Agape Flights is a faith-based organization that began operations in November 1980 with a small Cessna flying from Sarasota to Haiti. The first mission carried emergency supplies and mail for two dozen missionary families.
The group now operates from Venice Municipal Airport, serving approximately 300 missionary families throughout the Caribbean.
The organization has faced previous incidents in Haiti. Four years ago, rioters stormed an airport in Les Cayes, Haiti, and torched an Agape plane. The crew escaped safely, and donations helped purchase a replacement aircraft.
Two years later, an Agape-operated Cessna made a gear-up landing in Haiti. No one was injured in that incident.
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UPDATE 2:22 P.M. 2/6 JEREMIE, Haiti. (WWSB) – Agape Flights has released a statement regarding an aircraft that dropped off radar Thursday afternoon and was later located in the mountains of Haiti.
In a video message to supporters, Agape Flights CEO, Allen Speer, said the aircraft disappeared “yesterday afternoon, Feb. 5, 2026,” and an “extensive search and rescue effort” continued through the night and into Friday.
Speer said it does not yet know what led to the aircraft’s disappearance.
“We do not believe that there were any survivors,” the organization said.
Agape Flights said it will not release names or additional details “at this particular time,” citing privacy and dignity concerns for those involved. The message asked supporters to pray for the pilots’ families and the broader Agape Flights community.
FULL STATEMENT FROM AGAPE FLIGHTS:
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UPDATE 12:32 P.M. 2/6 JEREMIE, Haiti. (WWSB) – A Venice-based nonprofit lost contact with one of its aircraft Thursday afternoon while the plane was operating over a mountainous region in Haiti.
Agape Flights announced the missing plane Friday and said additional information is limited. The organization is actively working to gather details and determine the circumstances surrounding the lost communication.
The aircraft was conducting a freight haul with two pilots on board, moving cargo as part of a humanitarian effort, according to Dan Diggins, a retired air safety investigator who worked with the FAA in Washington, D.C. for 15 years.
Diggins said the aircraft was a model from the 1980s and is considered very reliable. He identified several theories for the loss of communication, including weather-related issues, mechanical problems or pilot error.
He also mentioned the possibility of a hazmat issue if cargo was shaken loose and spilled, but said that would have happened during takeoff and is unlikely to be the cause.
“You feel bad for the people involved, you feel bad for the company, you feel bad for the family of the pilots, you know, because they don’t want to get into an accident,” Diggins said. “And it’s just a terrible situation, especially when they’re doing a humanitarian effort. I mean, it’s just a very tragic thing.”
Diggins said authorities have lost both communication with the pilots and surveillance of the plane from the ground. Similar issues have occurred around this location in the past, but the cause remains uncertain.
Agape Flights has hundreds of mission partners across the Caribbean and helps areas in need after natural disasters. The organization issued a statement on social media asking for community support.
“We respectfully ask for continued prayer for the pilots, their families and the entire Agape Flights organization during this difficult and uncertain times,” the statement said.
Congressman Greg Steube posted online about the situation, saying “Agape Flights is part of our community in Southwest Florida. We lift up their pilots, their families, and the entire Agape team through prayer in Jesus’ name.”
Weather conditions examined
Meteorologist John Scalzi noted that a storm system was passing over areas of Cuba and moving into adjacent waters on the day of the missing flight. However, the flight location was approximately 800 miles from the Florida coastline, and the storm system was likely too far removed to be a factor in the incident.
The missing aircraft’s location showed clear conditions in the morning around 10 a.m., though cloud cover developed later as the storm system moved through the area.
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JEREMIE, Haiti. (WWSB) – Agape Flights said it lost contact with an aircraft over Haiti on Thursday afternoon.
The organization said in a social media statement that it lost contact with N316AF, an Embraer 110 Bandeirante, over the mountains near Jeremie, Haiti, on the afternoon of Feb. 5, 2026. The organization said it does not have additional information at this time.
“We ask for prayers for the pilots and their families, and for the entire family of Agape Flights during this incredibly difficult time,” the statement said.
The organization also asked for privacy for the families.
“We also respectfully request privacy for the families as they navigate these moments with courage and grace,” the organization said.
Agape Flights did not say how many people were on board, where the aircraft was headed, or whether a distress call was made. The statement also did not specify any search efforts or which agencies may be involved.
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