A small airplane being used on set for Tom Cruise's new movie, Mena, crashed in the Colombian Andes in Medellin, Colombia on Friday (Sept. 11). The crash killed two people and left a third person severely injured, according to The Associated Press.
The two people killed in the horrific crash were identified as Los Angeles film pilot, Alan David Purwin and Colombian native, Carlos Berl. Another American pilot involved in the crash, Jimmy Lee Garland, is currently in intensive care after being rushed to the hospital for severe injuries, according to Variety. Cruise, who is a trained pilot, was not in the aircraft at the time of the crash.
Local authorities believe inclement weather played a major role in the twin-engine Aerostar smashing against the Alto de la Clarita Mountains late Friday afternoon, accoridng to the AP. The plane took off from Santa Fe Antioquia, headed for a quick routine flight to Medellin.
The 53-year-old actor has been in Colombia for the past month to begin production of his new film, which depicts the story of a pilot who worked for notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar. The life of the infamous kingpin has had a lot of attention recently, even nabbing a Netflix series called, Narcos, surrounding his life and the influence he had on cocaine distribution in Colombia and Miami.
Directed by Doug Liman, the Universal Pictures drama has been filming in Colombia since August. Cruise plays Barry Seal, the American pilot working for Escobar before becoming an informant for the Drug Enforcement Agency. The film also features Jesse Plemons, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright and Caleb Landry Jones.
"An aircraft carrying crew members crashed while returning to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellin following production wrap on the film, Mena, resulting in two fatalities," said a spokesperson from Mena's film distributor, Universal, in a statement released after the crash. "Further details are not available at this time. On behalf of the production, our hearts and prayers go out to the crew members and their families at this difficult time."
