Multiple videos of plumes of smoke and fire have spread online after a private jet crashed within minutes of takeoff in the Dominican Republic on Sunday. MLB legend Yadier Molina was to board the ill-fated flight. On Sunday, the terrible accident has taken the lives of the only two people on board: the pilot and the co-pilot.

The New York Post reported that the US-registered Gulfstream G200 Galaxy executive jet crashed when the pilot attempted an emergency landing on runway 29 at La Romana International Airport. When the jet was 16 nautical miles southwest of the airport, the flight declared an emergency and turned back. Unfortunately, it could not land safely and erupted into a fireball on the runway. MLB insider Mike Rodriguez posted a video of the crash on X.

Following the jet crash, Yadier Molina revealed on Instagram that the flight was bound to pick up the former player and his family from Austin, Texas.

“My condolences to the pilots and their families,” he wrote. “This plane was on its way to pick up me, my family, and friends in Texas to return to Puerto Rico. This is all so heartbreaking,” wrote Molina on Instagram.

Molina is a 10X All-Star and 2X World Series champion (2006, 2011) who retired in 2022 with a .726 OPS, having played with the St. Louis Cardinals through his 19-season MLB career.

The crashed flight was supposed to carry Molina and his family to Puerto Rico. It was sheer luck that the Molina family escaped the accident, shaken but unscathed.

The Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation issued a press statement, confirming, “The US-registered aircraft, registered to an executive aviation company, had its two crew members on board: the pilot and co-pilot. No passengers were reported.”

Following the crash, the Dominican authorities are investigating the cause of the emergency landing and the crash. Reportedly, there were some mechanical issues with the jet.

Aircraft crashes are fatal, and one such crash killed a two-time Cy Young Award winner in 2017. Roy Halladay died when his ICON A-5 amphibious light-sport aircraft crashed in the Gulf of Mexico.

As Molina fortunately escaped the fatal flight, it reminds us of the former MLB player Octavio Dotel, who lost his life in a freak accident. Dotel was also Molina’s teammate in the 2011 World Series championship.

The nightclub accident that killed Octavio Dotel

In April 2025, the roof of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, collapsed, killing and injuring more than a hundred people. Former major league pitcher Octavio Dotel was among the victims.

Fatally injured, he died en route to the hospital after the accident. He was 51 years old at that time.

The accident happened during merengue singer Rubby Perez’s concert at the club. The singer also lost his life.

Dotel, a provincial governor, pitched in the MLB from 1999 until 2013. Although he debuted with the New York Mets, Dotel only spent one season in Queens. He had thrown for several teams, including the New York Yankees, the Houston Astros, the Athletics, the Chicago White Sox, and the Detroit Tigers.

The right-hander’s four-plus-season stint with the Astros was the longest. However, he played his last MLB game in 2013 wearing a Tigers jersey.

Dotel held a 58-50 record with a career ERA of 3.78 in 758 games.