Better Late Than Never

​By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
On December 3, 1994, a troubled 26-year-old hired a pilot to take her out in a small Cessna for what she claimed was a trip to take aerial photographs. It turned out to be a trip into oblivion. ​

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Nature Preserve in Cutler Bay where Christine Pascale's body was found in 2017

​The plane left Opa-Locka airport, and Christine Pascale had indicated an area close to her parent's home in SW Miami where she said she wanted to take the photographs. It was only when the pilot felt a gust of wind, and turned around that he saw her seconds before she leaped from the plane. It was then he realized what her real intentions had been all along.

Hodelin F. Rene the pilot later explained to FAA investigators that they were flying about 5,000 feet in the air, and their eyes had met for a moment when he saw her internationally throw herself out. Traveling at 120 miles and hour, her body met the ground in 15 seconds assuring her death.

Something the pilot did not know was that only days before Pascale had tried to jump from another plane as it circled the same area. In this case the pilot had spied she had unlocked her safety belt, and returned to the airport after he guessed what she was trying to do.

Ironically Pascale had hoped to become a pilot herself, but a history of mental illness derailed her plans. She had obtained a license to fly a single-engine propeller-driven plane, which the FAA later revoked when they found she had lied about her medical history.

The FAA believed she was dishonest, schizophrenic, compulsive and dangerous. Her personal life was marred by domestic disputes mostly with her father. She had an arrest record for disorderly conduct, writing bad checks, fights with landlords, and also more serious incidents where she was charged with felonies.

She didn't leave a note but within a few days she was set to attend court on a 1991 case where she had attacked her sister. She had violated probation twice, and it seemed there was a good chance she would do jail time.

Over 20 years passed before Pascale's body was found in June, 2017, in a 22-acre nature preserve. DNA eventually confirmed the bones were her.

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