Pivot Airlines crew back in Canada after being trapped in Dominican Republic since spring
Pivot Airlines crew back in Canada after being trapped in Dominican Republic since spring
They are home.
The five-member Pivot Airlines crew, who had been detained in the Dominican Republic for almost eight months, is now back in Canada.
An emotional airport reunion took place in a special pre-arrivals area of Toronto Pearson International Airport, as the two flight attendants, pilot, co-pilot and mechanic were greeted by family.
The crew touched down shortly after 7 p.m. Pilot Rob DiVenanzo was engulfed in a hug with his wife Melanie, who is also a pilot, and his teenaged son Tyler, telling them “This is surreal, it’s such a relief, I feel like the last couple of months the hope was gone.”
Mechanic B.K. Dubey, with his three young children holding him around his legs, said, “I can’t believe I’m home. I can’t express what it feels like.”
Flight attendant Alex Rozov told his partner Eduardo: “This is a dream come true. This man is my rock, my everything. I love you so much.”
Their ordeal began on April 5, shortly before takeoff from Punta Cana International Airport on a return flight to Toronto. With seven Canadian passengers on board the chartered plane, the crew discovered eight large duffle bags stuffed in the plane’s avionics bay. They immediately notified Dominican authorities and the RCMP back in Canada.
Inside the bags were 210 kilograms of cocaine.
DiVenanzo believes they averted an air disaster by making the discovery before takeoff.
“There is no doubt in my mind that had we got airborne or attempted to get airborne, we would have been in trouble,” DiVenanzo told W5, explaining that the avionics bay houses the plane’s computer systems.
“They are not aviation professionals who did this. They’re jamming bags up there with control cables and threats of fire. It would have been a literal disaster.”
The crew thought they would be celebrated as heroes, but instead were imprisoned for nine days before being released on bail.
Since then, they have been under virtual house arrest, without their passports, on a no-fly list, and living in fear of retribution for disrupting a major shipment of cocaine. Those fears meant being moved to five different safe houses and requiring 24-hour armed protection.
Dominican laws allow a suspect to be held for up to a year without any charges being laid. The crew says they were never once questioned by Dominican authorities.
It’s not clear why the case was suddenly dropped. When the District Attorney released the news on Nov. 11, DiVenanzo tied the decision to let the crew go home to the fact W5 was on the ground asking questions of the government.
“The timing was critical. We’re very thankful to [W5]. I think we were at a point where things had gotten stale. And I think the pressure you guys put down here was the difference-maker. We had a lot of good people working for us in our company, but I think you being here at this particular time may have been the deciding factor.”
In making the announcement last month, the Dominican District Attorney simply stated that there was not enough evidence to proceed.
There are still many unanswered questions about who chartered the plane and what plans were in place to unload the drugs, had they arrived at Pearson airport. It’s the subject of a W5 investigation, ‘Cocaine Cargo,’ which airs Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. on CTV.
Watch W5’s investigation, 'Cocaine Cargo,' on Dec. 10, 2022, at 7 p.m. on CTV
In an unusual move, the Russian Defence Ministry broadcast that one of its newest warships, the Admiral Gorshkov, had tested the strike capabilities of a hypersonic Zircon missile in a virtual drill.
On Feb. 27, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country needed fighters, and foreigners were welcome to join the front line in the defence against Russian aggression. Some Canadians were among the first to answer the call.
The federal privacy watchdog says Home Depot shared details from electronic receipts with Meta, which operates the Facebook social media platform, without the knowledge or consent of customers.
Politicians in charge of provincial and territorial liquor laws aren't hurrying to adopt or promote newly updated guidelines that advise a steep drop in Canadian drinking habits.
A new survey suggests the vast majority of Canadians have concerns about the state of the health-care system, particularly in Atlantic provinces where hospitals have struggled to maintain emergency services for months. Leger and The Association for Canadian Studies surveyed 1,554 Canadian adults over a two-day period in January.
Efforts to lure nurses from other provinces are underway in several parts of the country, but the head of a national nurses association says the poaching won't solve anything unless working conditions are improved.
Auschwitz-Birkenau survivors and other mourners commemorated the 78th anniversary Friday of the liberation of the Nazi German death camp, some expressing horror that war has again shattered peace in Europe and the lesson of Never Again is being forgotten.
Canada sends four combat-ready battle tanks to Ukraine, a Russian warship armed with advanced missiles sails into western Atlantic, and Canadians fighting in Ukraine speak out. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights an example of a W5 mini investigation that never made it to air, but made a difference in someone's life nonetheless.
On CTVNews.ca/W5: Executive Producer Derek Miller highlights some of W5's upcoming investigations, including Mexico's multi-billion dollar avocado industry run by cartels, and a continuing look into the Pivot Airlines passengers and crew who were detained for months without charges in the Dominican Republic.
The five-member Pivot Airlines crew, who had been detained in the Dominican Republic for almost eight months, is now back in Canada. An emotional airport reunion took place in a special pre-arrivals area of Toronto Pearson International Airport, as the two flight attendants, pilot, co-pilot and mechanic were greeted by family.
W5 speaks with Pivot Airlines flight attendant Christina Carello, who reveals new details about how she uncovered key evidence that had been tampered with in a nightmare ordeal in the Dominican Republic.
CTV's W5 has been shown never-before-seen surveillance footage of Punta Cana International Airport from the night before a Canadian airline crew was detained after discovering duffel bags stuffed with 210 kilograms of cocaine in their plane's avionics bay.
Fifty years ago, Omar Sachedina’s mother was expelled from Uganda along with tens of thousands of other Asians. This summer, she returned to her village for the first time. Omar recounts, in his own words, the emotional return to his mother’s homeland on CTVNews.ca.
CTV W5 investigates claims by parents who say seclusion and restraints are being used in schools on their children with disabilities, without their permission or knowledge.
Ontario’s November indoor masking recommendation was not considered a “key message” for the health minister when speaking in the legislature at the time, documents show.
The family of a prominent Toronto artist with autism is speaking out after one of the city’s oldest private clubs demanded he be supervised at all times while using the facilities – a decision that prompted the artist to file a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
Ottawa police and Bylaw Services are telling residents and visitors they will be taking a zero-tolerance approach to parking, noise and fireworks violations downtown this weekend, on the one-year anniversary of the 'Freedom Convoy' demonstration.
A jury of six men and six women handed down their verdict Thursday morning for the death of Ryan Babineau, who died after suffering nearly 70 stab wounds and lacerations.
Barrie Colts owner Howie Campbell, as well as the captain and alternate captain of the Colts, Brandt Clarke and Jacob Fraska visited the two patients at RVH this week.
Ontario’s November indoor masking recommendation was not considered a “key message” for the health minister when speaking in the legislature at the time, documents show.
The number of medical students specializing to become family doctors is on a downward trend — and the reasons why are already being felt by those who have just recently started their family medicine residency.
The number of medical students specializing to become family doctors is on a downward trend — and the reasons why are already being felt by those who have just recently started their family medicine residency.
He hails from the Municipality of Lakeshore but this week, 21-year-old Roman De Angelis is on holy ground for a race car driver — set to take to the iconic track of Daytona International Speedway this weekend in the Rolex 24.
Dozens of people were arrested this week for alleged child sex offences across Quebec during a mass mobilization of police officers in several jurisdictions.
In 2021, 22-year-old Taylor Halperin moved BEEhind The Lens Photography into a new home: a studio on St-Charles Boulevard in Pierrefonds-Roxboro. Early Wednesday morning, her studio and several businesses next door caught fire.
The Manitoba government is issuing a second round of cheques to help people deal with inflation in a move that critics say has more to do with boosting the governing Progressive Conservatives' chances in the next election.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith once again expressed concerns over the federal government's proposed legislation to move the country away from high-polluting jobs.
Calgary police have arrested one suspect and are still looking for another in connection to a December incident in a southwest parking lot that left the victim severely injured.
A new survey suggests the vast majority of Canadians have concerns about the state of the health-care system, particularly in Atlantic provinces where hospitals have struggled to maintain emergency services for months. Leger and The Association for Canadian Studies surveyed 1,554 Canadian adults over a two-day period in January.
The immersive, slow-burn experience viewers get from "Skinamarink" is the antithesis of seconds-long videos seen on TikTok, a platform that helped create buzz for the low-budget Canadian horror film months before its release.
A coroner's inquest into Nicole Chan's death heard testimony Thursday about the Vancouver police officer's visit to the hospital just hours before she took her own life in 2019.
Fourteen months after Dave Martens' chicken barns on Abbotsford's Sumas Prairie were flooded, the repairs are almost complete and he finally has birds again. Now, he's trying to keep it that way.
Canada is sending four combat-ready battle tanks to Ukraine and will be deploying 'a number' of Canadian Armed Forces members to train Ukrainian soldiers on how to operate them.
The CEO of Via Rail says that after a tree fell on a passenger train as it travelled on CN Rail tracks during the holidays, it took the freight company longer than hoped to clear it -- and passengers on board were stuck for 18 hours.
The federal government is preparing to revive an independent commission that would offer advice to cabinet on reforming Canadian laws. In the 2021 federal budget, Ottawa committed to spend $18 million over five years and $4 million in ongoing annual funding for a new Law Commission of Canada. Its last iteration had been shuttered by Stephen Harper's Conservative government in 2006.
A new survey suggests the vast majority of Canadians have concerns about the state of the health-care system, particularly in Atlantic provinces where hospitals have struggled to maintain emergency services for months. Leger and The Association for Canadian Studies surveyed 1,554 Canadian adults over a two-day period in January.
Efforts to lure nurses from other provinces are underway in several parts of the country, but the head of a national nurses association says the poaching won't solve anything unless working conditions are improved.
A chance discovery by an Edmonton area woman who was walking her dogs has turned out to be a massive fossilized bone that likely belonged to an Ice Age mammoth.
Shares of BuzzFeed Inc. extended gains to more than double in value on Thursday on reports the digital media firm was planning to use artificial intelligence to personalize and enhance its online quizzes and content.
Retailers and tech companies use many tools to mine consumers for data they can share with third parties, but there are steps consumers can take to protect and safeguard their personal information.
Sarah Del Seronde is a big believer in interrogating the word 'legacy,' particularly as it relates to her late husband, the filmmaker Jeff Barnaby. Before his death in October, the 46-year-old had an outsized influence on Indigenous storytelling -- and Seronde said that part of his work is ongoing.
Global shares advanced Friday, tracking a rally on Wall Street following reports suggesting the economy and corporate profits may be doing better than feared.
Shares in India's Adani Group plunged up to 20 per cent on Friday and the company said it was considering legal action against U.S.-based short-selling firm Hindenburg Research for allegations of stock market manipulation and accounting fraud that have led investors to dump its stocks.
Boeing pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge that it misled regulators who approved its 737 Max, the plane that was involved in two crashes that killed 346 people.
Novak Djokovic's father decided to stay away from the 21-time Grand Slam champion's semifinal after getting embroiled in a flap involving spectators who brought banned Russian flags to Melbourne Park, Tennis Australia said Friday.
Elena Rybakina, a 23-year-old who represents Kazakhstan, reached her second final in a span of three major tournaments by beating Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (4), 6-3 at the Australian Open on Thursday, signalling a rapid rise toward the top of tennis.
The head of France's professional handball league resigned Wednesday after pleading guilty to child corruption and child pornography charges -- the country's latest sports scandal before it hosts next year's Paris Olympics.
Tesla said it intends to invest US$3.6 billion to expand manufacturing capabilities in Nevada and is confident growing software-related profits, reflected in record net income reported Wednesday for the fourth quarter of last year, will keep margins higher than any other automaker.
