Former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina revealed that an airplane that crashed on Sunday, June 7, in the Dominican Republic, killing the two American pilots on board, was on its way to pick him up in Texas.
“My condolences to the pilots and their families,” he wrote via his Instagram Story on Sunday. “This plane was on its way to pick me up, my friend and my family in Texas to return to Puerto Rico.”
The private aircraft was attempting to land at La Romana International Airport, minutes after taking off from the same location. Video of the crash has been circulating social media, showing the plane hitting the ground and appearing to bounce on its rear wheels along the grass next to the runway before bursting into flames.
“An accident occurred on Sunday afternoon at La Romana International Airport involving the crash of a private aircraft, a Gulfstream 200, registration N318JF,” the airport said in a statement shared via Facebook, originally written in Spanish. “The plane was crewed by pilot Erick Javier Diago and co-pilot Ruddy Ghazal, both of American nationality and the only occupants of the flight, which was headed to the city of Austin, Texas, in the United States.”
Dominican authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident, according to local outlet Listin Diario.
The plane, which has a capacity of up to 18 passengers, initially turned back due to mechanical problems, roughly 16 miles from the airport, local media reported. As emergency services worked to contain the blaze, operations at the airfield were temporarily halted.
Molina, 43, played his entire 19-year career with the Cardinals, winning two World Series titles with the club and making 10 All-Star games. He was in Texas to support his son, who was playing for the state baseball championship in Austin for Lake Travis High School.
Molina broke into the majors in 2004, and while he has owned properties near the Cardinals’ regular season and Spring Training homes, he also maintains a residence in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, near his home town of Bayamón.
The Molina name was synonymous with catching in Major League Baseball during the early 2000s, as Yadier and his siblings, Jose and Bengie, both all enjoyed long MLB careers behind the plate.
Since his retirement, Yadier has served as manager of the Puerto Rico national team during the 2023 World Baseball Classic and is a special assistant in the Cardinals’ front office.
