ST MARY, Jamaica — Rushawn Nembhard, the passenger in the ill-fated two-seater plane that crashed in the hills of Hampstead St Mary last Friday, is resting at home after being released from hospital Sunday. The apprentice engineer is said to be in good spirits.

READ: Plane crashes in St Mary – one person reportedly dead

The crash claimed the life of Major Dudley Beek, former commanding officer of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Air Wing Reserve.

READ: Pilot confirmed dead after St Mary plane crash

Both men left Tinson Pen for the Ian Fleming International Airport in St Mary at 9:03 am. The Ercoupe aircraft went down in the Ballard’s Valley area of Hampstead approximately 9:30 am, the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCCA) reported.

Residents told the Jamaica Observer they went in search after hearing a loud explosion and found the small craft on the Ballard’s Valley property. Its crumpled nose was touching the ground, tail up in the air, the body supported by slender trees.

A search and rescue team comprising members of the JDF, firefighters, the Port Authority of Jamaica, and the Jamaica Constabulary Force was deployed. They found the two injured men at the crash site and had them airlifted to University Hospital of the West Indies. Major Beek, a highly regarded member of the aviation sector, later died from his injuries.

– Ingrid Henry