A Cuban fled the island in an old Antonov plane

A cuban pilot landed this Friday in the south of Florida (USA) with an old
Russian-made plane and apparently alone, according to authorities.

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Miami International Airport (MIA) officials said the single-engine aircraft Antonov An-2 landed at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport.

The airfield is located in the middle of the immense wetland of the Florida Everglades, near the highway that runs from Miami to Tampa known as the Tamiami Trail and the community of Ochopee, in Collier County.

Currently, that aerodrome, whose paved runway is 10,499 feet long (more than 3 km) and 150 feet (45 meters) wide, provides training service for commercial pilots, private training and serves “a small number of landings and takeoffs military,” according to the MIA.

The landing of the plane was confirmed by Rachel Torres, spokeswoman for the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The spokeswoman indicated that agents from the Air and Maritime Operations Center and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are investigating the Cuban pilot’s flight.

The CiberCuba outlet identified the pilot as Ruben Martinez and showed images of the small plane, yellow and blue, stopped at the edge of the airfield runway.

He also indicated, citing sources close to the aviator, that he had flown from Sancti Spiritusa province in central Cuba located more than 185 miles (300 kilometers) east of Havana.

The flight, he added, lasted about an hour. Local media that took pictures of the device indicated that it belongs to the National Air Services Company (ENSA), dedicated to the aerial fumigation of crops.

The Antonov An-2, also called the Annushka, is a single engine biplane originally from the 1940s and was the first model in the Antonov range of aircraft, also operating in commercial aviation.

Generally, the model that landed this Friday in Florida is used for light transport with a capacity for twelve passengers, skydiving and agricultural work.

In fiscal year 2021 (through September 30), the number of Cubans arriving in the US by sea and land soared to historic levels. According to the latest statement from the Coast Guard, published during this day, between last Tuesday and this Friday 270 Cubans were repatriated after being intercepted in various operations off the coast of Florida.

Record number of Cubans who want to leave the island

Also, since last October 1, the Coast Guard has intercepted 921 Cubans at sea, according to data from the institution. During fiscal year 2022, from October 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022, a total of 6,182 Cuban migrants were intercepted in the waters of the Florida Straits, well above the 838 detained in the previous fiscal period.

“The policy commonly known as Dry Feet / Wet Feet was repealed in 2017,” Lieutenant Matt Miller, of the Seventh Coast Guard District, said in a statement on Friday about the measure repealed by the former president. Barack Obama and that it gave legal protection to Cubans who arrived by sea.

Miami (Efe)