Divers took stunning photos of Pablo Escobar’s cocaine plane at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea.
The drug plane crashed into the water in 1980 when it tried to land on Norman’s Cay, the island originally planned for the controversial Fyre festival.
The Curtiss C-46 Commando – at the time the largest twin-engine aircraft in the world and capable of carrying large amounts of cargo – crossed the runway before finally hitting the seabed.
The island in the Bahamas is now a popular holiday destination, but in the past it was used by drug lords as an ideal refuge and stopover for cocaine shipments to the United States.
Between 1978 and 1982, it served as the headquarters of Carlos Lehder, one of the top agents of Escobar’s Medellín cartel.
These are the amazing photos showing Pablo Escobar’s cocaine plane at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea
The drug plane crashed while trying to land on the controversial Fyre Festival Island
The Curtiss C-46 Commando was the largest twin-engine aircraft in the world at the time and was considered capable of carrying large amounts of cargo
Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was one of the world’s most notorious criminals in the 20th century
Norman’s Cay was later chosen by con artist Billy McFarland as the location for his now infamous Fyre Festival.
McFarland leased the island from the current owners, who set a strict condition on him not to mention Escobar in any promotional material for the event.
To create buzz around the Fyre Festival, a number of influencers and models were paid to visit the island in December 2016
But when McFarland subsequently announced that the festival would be held on “Pablo Escobar’s private island”, the owners immediately terminated their agreement with McFarland.
The festival gained worldwide fame with two documentaries about the spectacular series of bankruptcies and accidents that eventually landed McFarland in prison.
Underwater photographer Ken Kiefer discovered the plane’s wreckage and said, “The plane was destroyed during a drug operation for Pablo Escobar.”
“It was really cool to see and be a piece of history that now also provides a home for marine life.”
“My wife Kimber dived around the wreckage and checked the plane and the fish life that had accumulated.”
During his time at the helm of the Medellin cartel, Escobar controlled more than 80 percent of the cocaine shipped to the United States, earning him the rank of one of Forbes Magazine’s ten richest people in the world.
The island in the Bahamas is now a popular holiday destination, but in the past it was used by drug lords as an ideal refuge and stopover for cocaine shipments to the United States.
However, in November 1980, the flight overshot the runway and landed on the seabed
During his time at the helm of the Medellin cartel, Escobar controlled more than 80 percent of the cocaine shipped to the United States, earning him the rank of one of Forbes Magazine’s ten richest people in the world.
Escobar entered the cocaine trade in the early 1970s and founded the Medellín Cartel with other criminals
By the mid-1980s, Pablo Escobar had an estimated fortune of $30 billion and cash was so widely available that Escobar bought a Learjet just to fly his money.
To create buzz around the Fyre Festival, a number of influencers and models were paid to visit the island in December 2016
Escobar entered the cocaine trade in the early 1970s and founded the Medellín Cartel with other criminals.
By the mid-1980s, Pablo Escobar had an estimated fortune of $30 billion and cash was so widely available that Escobar bought a Learjet just to fly his money.
More than 15 tons of cocaine were reportedly smuggled every day, bringing in up to $420 million a week for the cartel.
For most of his time at the top of the drug scene, Escobar gained popularity by sponsoring charities and football clubs, sharing some of his wealth with local communities and being portrayed as a sort of Robin Hood figure.
But the terror campaigns of Escobar’s henchmen led to the murder of thousands of people and slowly but surely turned the public against him, while American law enforcement worked with Colombian police to dismantle his empire.
Colombian police finally caught up with Escobar on December 2, 1993, in a middle-class neighborhood in Medellín.
A shootout ensued, and as Escobar tried to escape over a series of rooftops, he and his bodyguard were shot.
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
