As reported in the November 11 edition of this newsletter, the Pivot Airlines crew that had been detained in the Dominican Republic in early April, 2022 after reporting to local authorities that a pre-flight inspection of their chartered CRJ-100 at the Punta Cana airport revealed a stash of cocaine hidden in the aircraft’s avionic bay, were released from custody. However, there was considerable red tape to process before they could finally board a flight home. This they did Thursday and the two pilots, two flight attendants the mechanic were met by colleagues and with an emotional welcome by their friends and family at Toronto’s Pearson airport.
“I can’t believe I’m home. I can’t express what it feels like,” said mechanic B.K. Dubey. Rob Di Venanzo, one of the pilots, was quoted as saying, “This is surreal, it’s such a relief, I feel like the last couple of months the hope was gone.” Flight attendant Alex Rozov said of his partner Eduardo, “This is a dream come true. [You are] my rock, my everything. I love you so much.”