Plane Went down In The Everglades Resulting In 110 Fatal Injuries

The FBI is stepping up its search for Mauro Ociel Valenzuela-Reyes in connection with the 1996 ValuJet accident in south Florida that resulted in the fatal injury of all 110 people on board the airplane.

The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Valenzuela-Reyes. A wanted poster released by the agency shows what he looked like in 1996, and how he may appear today.

Valenzuela-Reyes was a mechanic for the now-closed SabreTech, which was the maintenance contractor for ValuJet. He allegedly mishandled and packaged the oxygen generators that were placed in the plane's cargo hold which were the cause of the fire that led to the accident. But he vanished shortly after the accident and never faced charges. The Miami Herald obtained a news released from FBI Miami Special Agent Jacqueline Fruge in which she says that the agency has tried to find Valenzuela-Reyes over the years, but has been unsuccessful. “It bothers me. I’ve lived and breathed it for many, many years,” Fruge said in the release.

Television station WSVN reports that the reward is being offered for information about where Valenzuela-Reyes may be living now, with a goal of having him face trial.

Two other SabreTech employees were charged after the accident, but both were acquitted. A year after the accident, ValuJet merged with another airline.

(Image provided by the FBI)

FMI: Original report