A weather-related plane crash in Colombia on Friday night killed two crew members and injured a Georgia pilot who were working in the South American country on the Tom Cruise movie “Mena,” which previously filmed in metro Atlanta. Cruise was not on board.
“An aircraft carrying crew members crashed while returning to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in (Medellin, Colombia) following (the) production wrap on the film ‘Mena,’ resulting in two fatalities,” a statement from Universal Pictures said. “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.”
Jimmy Lee Garland, a partner with S&S Aviation in Cherokee County, was injured. A website launched Saturday to update supporters on his condition said that his wife and son were traveling to Colombia to be with him.
“He is in the hospital there with non-life threatening injuries,” a post on the site read. “Please keep the entire Garland family in your prayers.”
The “Cruisin’ Ball Ground” Facebook page, established in May as a fun way for residents to share photos and star sightings while “Mena” filmed in their small Cherokee County town, became an online support group on Saturday.
“My prayers go out to the victims and their families,” Robyn Hohensee wrote. “Praying for a complete recovery for Jimmy.”
The two people killed were identified as California film pilot Alan David Purwin and Colombian crew member Carlos Berl.
Purwin was chairman of Helinet, a Van Nuys, Calif., firm that provides aviation services to motion picture, news, charter, medical and government clients.
Helinet CEO Steve Gatena posted a tribute to his friend and colleague: “Alan Purwin was a great man, a world-renowned aviator and a brilliant entrepreneur. His legacy includes many feats such as conducting the first vital organ transplant mission in Los Angeles, supporting the first response rescue efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and being the only American Hollywood movie pilot to fly throughout the People’s Republic of China. There are no words that can express our heartache, for we have lost one of the world’s greatest helicopter pilots and one of aviation’s greatest leaders.”
