Baseball legend Yadier Molina's private plane crashes and explodes at airport in Dominican Republic
The pilot and co-pilot of a private plane chartered by baseball star Yadier Molina died after an accident on the runway of an airport in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, aviation authorities and the former player said, writes AFP.
The pilot and co-pilot of the aircraft, both Americans, died. “No passenger was reported” on board, said the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation, which issued a statement during the evening.
According to the statement, “the aircraft declared an emergency while approximately 16 nautical miles southwest of La Romana,” an international airport located in the eastern Dominican Republic, and crashed while returning to the airport for an emergency landing.
According to the publication by exgrandesligas Yadier Molina on his account of Instagram, the plane that crashed in him that the pilot and the copilot died, the only ones on board were headed to Texas to pick him up and his family. El accident ocurrió en La Romana, República… pic.twitter.com/mTi7uM7wNZ
— Mike Rodriguez (@mikedeportes) June 8, 2026
Yadier Molina explained a few hours later that the plane had taken off for Texas to take him, his family and friends to Puerto Rico.
“Condolences to the pilots and their families,” the former St. Louis player wrote on his Instagram account. Louis Cardinals.
The Puerto Rican is considered one of the best catchers in the history of the American Major League. In his 19-year career (2004-2022), he won the World Series twice. He is currently the coach of the Navigantes de Magallanes team in Venezuela and has led the Puerto Rico national team to two editions of the World Baseball Classic.
A video posted on social media shows a huge plume of smoke at the airport as tanker trucks dump water to try to control the flames.
An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the crash of this Gulfstream G200, a private jet with a capacity of eight to eighteen passengers.
In 2021, nine people died in an accident involving a private plane taking off from Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo. Among the victims was Puerto Rican music producer José Ángel Hernandez, better known as Flow La Movie.
The Dominican Republic, famous for its beaches and colonial architecture, welcomed almost 12 million tourists in 2025, making it the second largest tourist destination in Latin America.
