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C-123
in Action |
Our Fairchild C-123 was
a part of one of the biggest scandals in the mid 1980's. During this time,
the Reagan Administration had set up a bizarre network of arms sales to Iran
designed to win release of US hostages being held in Lebanon and raise money
to fund the Nicaraguan, counter-revolutionary guerilla fighters, commonly
referred to as the "Contras." By artificially inflating the prices
of the arms, NSA official Oliver North, was able to reap profits that could
be diverted to fund the counter-revolutionaries of the Cuban allied Sandinista
government. |
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Of the $16 million in
profits raised, only $3.8 million actually funded the Contras. With the CIA's
help, they purchased several items, including two C-123 cargo planes (one
of which is our plane), two C-7 planes, a Maule aircraft, spare parts, and
munitions. They also built a secret airstrip on an American-owned, 30,000
acre ranch in northwest Costa Rica. On October 5, 1986, a US cargo plane (the
twin sister) of El Avion's own Fairchild C-123, was shot down over southern
Nicaragua. One of the crewmembers, C.I.A operative Eugene Hasenfus, parachuted
to safety and was captured by the Sandinista army. Led out of the jungle at
gun point, Hasenfus's very existence set in motion an incredible chain of
cover-ups and lies that would mushroom into one of the biggest scandals in
American political history known as the Iran-Contra Affair. As a result of
this successful Sandinista strike on our Fairchild's sister plane, the cargo
operation was suspended and one of the C-123s was abandoned at the International
Airport in San Jose.
...Hasenfus'
Capture
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n August 2000,
we purchased the abandoned Fairchild for $3,000. We then disassembled and
shipped the pieces of the Iran-Contra relic to Quepos. From San Jose, the
fuselage was shipped via ocean ferry (from Caldera to Quepos) because it was
10 inches too wide for the antiquated Chiquita Banana railroad bridges! After
hauling all seven aircraft sections up the Manuel Antonio hill, the C-123
finally found its current cliff-side resting-place.
Now, our C-123 has been
retired to less risqué endeavors as a restaurant, bar, coffee store,
and an enduring Cold War relic.
Read more about the Iran
Contra scandal in the following New York Times' articles. . .
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American Is
Captured After Plane Is Downed in Nicaragua Territory WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 -
An American-built cargo plane that was shot down over southern Nicaragua on
Sunday was operated by a private group led by a retired United States Army
major general Reagan Administration officials said today.The officials said
the plane was operated by an organization headed by the retired general, John
K. Singlaub, and had taken off from El Salvador. It had flown down the Pacific
coast of Nicaragua and turned inland to deliver ammunition and supplies to
rebels seeking to open a southern front against the Sandinista Government
in Managua.Spokesmen for the Administration, the State Department, the Central
Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense all emphatically denied
that the flight was in any way connected with the United States Government
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C.I.A. Denies
a Role-Aides Point to PrivateRightist Organization WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 -
President Reagan strongly suggested today that he approved of efforts by private
American citizens to help Nicaraguan insurgents fighting the Sandinista Government,
including those Americans who sent in a cargo plane that was shot down on
Sunday.But Administration officials disclosed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation
had opened what was described as a "preliminary investigation" of
those private activities as possible violation of American neutrality laws.Even
so, President Reagan compared the efforts of private citizens at this time
to those of Americans who joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the 1930's
to fight alongside Spanish Republican soldiers against Franco and his rightist
Insurgents.
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The 1954
model, C-123 paratroop/cargo plane, provided by the CIA and Ollie North for
the Contra/Sandinista 1980's guerilla war in Nicaragua, in the San Jose airport
before disassembly. |
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The time-worn
cockpit; detaching the wings and the start of the take-apart job.
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Removal
of the tail and wings begins... |
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The wings
are lifted off the fuselage, which is shortly to be a cut in half.
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Towing
the plane to Port Caldera, the nearest sea port to the international airport. |
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After
loading the C-123 on to the ferry, we hit the high seas; arrival at Port Quepos. |
The fuselage
being unloaded at Port Quepos. |
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Winding
our way through downtown Quepos... |
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Putting
the finishing touches on 'Ollie's Folly'; the C-123 finds its final resting
place on a hill 300 meters above the hotel reception |
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Now El Avion is ready to serve up a food, drinks and beautiful sunsets! |
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Join us under the wing at our restaurant or in the fuselage at our
pub. |
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