Mona Passage: Ercoupe vanishes after UFO sighting
Two pilots reported an unusual object over the Mona Passage and changed course three times before their aircraft disappeared. No wreckage was ever found.
Background
Incident
On June 28, 1980 at about 20:06, two civilian pilots, José L. Maldonado Torres and José A. Pagán Santos, were flying an ERCO Ercoupe 415-D (registration N3808H) at 1,500 feet over the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. They had taken off from Las Américas International Airport in the Dominican Republic bound for San Juan, PR.
UAP Encounter
The pilots sent a mayday message and reported a strange object that forced them to change course three times. The event resembles the Valentich case and suggests a possible interaction with an unknown phenomenon.
Disappearance and Investigation
The aircraft vanished without trace; both occupants died. No wreckage was found, despite a search. The NTSB investigated the incident as an accident in the en route phase, without establishing a clear cause. The aircraft was classified as destroyed, with two fatalities.
Sources and Significance
Accounts in the UFO literature single out the unusual observation of an object (Eberhart, Good, Martín). The absence of wreckage and the mayday call reporting a UAP have been cited as making the case particularly notable.