The tragic story of ‘Maye’ and Fabio, the successful couple who died in the plane crash in Ubaté

Flying was always an activity that linked to doctor Fabio Grandas and lawyer Mayerly Díaz. In ‘el aire’ they became boyfriends, husbands, according to their family and friends. Paradoxically, their fatal destiny was also written in the air, when the aircraft in which they were traveling with Martín, their baby, barely a year and a half, and Nuris Meza, the nanny, rushed ashore before 5 in the afternoon on Tuesday, October 13. All the occupants died except for the minor.

‘Maye’, the successful civil servant

Mayerly’s associates describe the lawyer’s life as one of professional successes. They say that he loved to dance and listen to vallenato. She was an expert in telecommunications and was Director of Surveillance and Control of the Ministry of Information Technologies and Telecommunications (ICT). Under that position, in 2013, he received the Evaluamos Award for ICT Innovation.

Mayerly Díaz, born in Barrancabermeja, specialist in Communications Law and Master in Economic Law, was a leader in other public positions. In 2016, she was the corporate planning and control manager of the Bogotá Sewerage and Aqueduct Company and was the creator and director of the National Digital Agency.

In the midst of professional successes, ‘Maye’ was also recognized as a woman devoted to her family and her three children. “As a professional, she gave herself a lot to everything she set out to do and it was lovely that Fabio decided to start a family with her. She had raised her two oldest children as a single mother and set an inspiring example. Then Martín was born and the joy became greater among all ”, he told El Tiempo Maria Judith Grandas, cousin of Fabio Grandas.

To reconcile the professional life of the work that formally united the couple in 2017, it was usual for Mayerly and Martín, and even their Labrador retriever Piper, to accompany Fabio on his medical missions in the most remote places of Colombia. Back, his refuge and tranquility were in his house in Aposentos (Sopó), in the heart of the Sabana de Bogotá.

His memories speak of activities together such as “tennis, golf, horses and family barbecue”, El Tiempo reviews, adding that his relatives remember that Fabio dedicated the vallenato ‘Metida en mi mente’, by Los Hermanos Mindiola. “Fabio also earned the trust of her family (…) there was some fear of possible suffering, but he proved otherwise from the beginning. Gave him the best in each day. The maturity that both had had an influence to a great extent, ”Fabio’s cousin added to the Colombian newspaper.

Fabio Grandas, doctor and pilot

Regarding the doctor Grandas, it is known that his loss not only impacted his family but also Colombian medicine. Fabio was 50 years old, a doctor from the National University, and had worked with the Santa Fe Foundation, the San Ignacio Hospital and the Los Nogales Clinic. In 2008 he joined the Civil Air Patrol.

“A friend instilled in me my other passion which is aviation. This is passion, you have to give back something you have received in life, “said the doctor at the time, almost a decade ago, about the work that sometimes put him in the role of medical volunteer or pilot volunteer.

The same Air Patrol regretted the death of Fabio Grandas in a statement: “Despite being a renowned transplant surgeon and a renowned career in hospital and medical institutions (…) he participated as a general surgeon in the medical-surgical brigades of the PAC, with great generosity, humanity and professionalism, transforming the lives of people in need of medical and surgical help and who have been waiting for surgery for years in the most remote places of Colombia ”.

The director of the San Ignacio University Hospital, Julio Castellanos, told El Tiempo more details about the qualities and dedication of the doctor to his mission and his family. “He managed his team perfectly. Despite the fact that he made his brigades, he only once asked me for permission to travel to Spain. He was an organized, calm, cheerful and very professional man ”, assured the doctor.

His colleagues and colleagues assure that Grandas was supremely strict with medical and air safety protocols.

Martin, the miracle

A glimmer of hope in the midst of the tragedy was Martín, the baby of just one and a half years and the only survivor of the plane crash. The minor is “stable, in the intensive care unit” of the Santa Fe Foundation, presented abdominal trauma, chest trauma and according to the medical center “is out of danger.” Javier Figueredo, coordinator of CRU Cundinamarca, confirmed that Martín is conscious and in the company of family members.

How did the tragedy happen?

Death found Mayerly and Fabio on their return trip from Santa Marta, where they had spent a few days in the company of friends of the couple.

Around 5:00 pm last Tuesday, October 13, the authorities of the Ubaté sector, Cundinamarca, in the Novilleros region, received the alert for the plane crash of the registered plane HK 2335-G.

As El Tiempo learned, the family’s original plan was to land in Guaymaral, but they went under just after declaring the emergency. All the occupants died instantly, but to the surprise of the rescue corps, the one-and-a-half-year-old baby remained alive.

The first hypotheses indicate that Mayerly, adopting all the measures in an emergency, was able to save the child’s life just before the fall of the aircraft. The reasons for the failure that caused the accident are still unknown.