Alongside the mysteries surrounding the cases of Amelia Earhart, who disappeared attempting an around-the-world flight in 1937, and D. B. Cooper, who jumped out of a hijacked 727 in mid-flight in 1971, aviation historians want to know the exact whereabouts of Mauro Valenzuela (a.k.a. Mauro Ociel Valenzuela-Reyes). Working as an aviation mechanic in 1996, Valenzuela is directly linked to a plane crash that killed more than 100 people and would have a profound effect on the future of commercial passenger aviation safety in the U.S. and across the world. It all began on May 11, 1996, when ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 en route from Miami to Atlanta crashed about 15 miles from Miami International Airport. Less an 11 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft went into a steep dive after the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and the plane was on fire. Flight 592 subsequently plunged into the Florida Everglades, killing 5 crew members and 105 passengers. Investigators from the NTSB theorized that a fire in the cargo hold destroyed cables running to and from the cockpit, causing the pilots to lose control of the aircraft. Once federal authorities knew why ValuJet 592 went down, the question was who was responsible? That’s where the story turns to Mauro Valenzuela. More than three years after the crash, on July 13, 1999, three employees from SabreTech were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy and making false statements stemming from lying to the FAA and falsifying work cards. One of the employees was Valenzuela, who fled before the trial began. He was indicted in absentia on contempt of court charges and 28 years later remains a fugitive. A federal warrant for his arrest was issued on April 6, 2000 and there is currently a reward of up to $10,000 being offered by the FBI for information leading to his capture. On August 14, 2000, a federal court ordered SabreTech to pay $11 million for hazardous materials violations. ValuJet rebranded itself as AirTran in 1997, but in 2010 was absorbed by Southwest Airlines.
 |
| FBI age-progressed images of Mauro Ociel Valenzuela-Reyes |
