It is still unclear why the McFit founder’s plane crashed.
(Photo: AFP)
San Jose The entrepreneur Rainer Schaller is missing. The founder of the gym chain McFit was on board a private plane that disappeared from the radar on Friday evening local time in Central America. A spokeswoman for the McFit Holding RSG Group confirmed this to the Handelsblatt. The “Bild” newspaper and several media in Costa Rica had previously reported on Schaller’s disappearance.
The Piaggio P.180 Avanti plane is said to have crashed off the coast of Costa Rica. According to the country’s coast guard, around 28 kilometers from Limón airport, they initially found parts of the fuselage, seats and several pieces of luggage. A video made available to local media by the Ministry of Security showed, among other things, several backpacks and travel bags.
>> Read also: Interview with Rainer Schaller: “I wanted to be number 1 with McFit, but had no idea”
In the further course of the search, the emergency services discovered two dead. The bodies of an adult and a child were found in the sea, the television station Teletica reported on Saturday, citing the Ministry of Public Security. “There were five passengers and one pilot on the plane — a total of six people,” Civil Aviation Authority director Fernando Naranjo said. “Based on the dates of birth, there were also two children among them.”
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
In addition to Rainer Schaller, his girlfriend and her two children and another man are said to have been in the accident machine. This was also confirmed by the spokeswoman for Schaller’s company.
The machine started from Mexico towards Costa Rica on Friday evening (local time). Communications were lost as the plane approached Limón airport over the sea, the security ministry said. “The plane disappeared from radar about 25 miles from Limón airport. The plane was due to land at 6:58 p.m., we lost it at an altitude of 2,000 feet,” Naranjo said. That’s around 600 meters.
Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the search work was initially stopped during the night. On Saturday, the Coast Guard and the Airspace Surveillance Agency resumed the search. A command center was set up at Limón airport to coordinate the search work.
“We are aware of the case,” said the Foreign Office in Berlin. “Our embassy in San Jose is in contact with the local authorities to clarify the matter.”
More: Rainer Schaller’s feat: McFit takes over Gold’s Gym