MIAMI – More than two decades after ValuJet Flight 592 crashed into the Everglades after taking off from Miami, a new reward is being offered to find a fugitive mechanic who may have had a role in the disaster.
The FBI announced the $10,000 reward Thursday for any information leading to the capture of Mauro Ociel Valenzuela-Reyes.
Valenzuela-Reyes was a mechanic for SabreTech, the maintenance contractor for ValuJet. He disappeared in 1999 while facing federal charges after investigators determined he may have had a hand in the crash that killed 110 passengers and crew members on May 11, 1996.
Investigators said the mishandling and packaging of oxygen generators placed in the plane's cargo hold led to the crash. The generators were missing required safety caps, which led to a fire just minutes after taking off from Miami International Airport.
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Marilyn Chamberlin walks through the 110 columns making up the ValuJet Memorial as she remembers her daughter Candalyn Kubeck, the captain of ValuJet 592, Tuesday May 11, 1999 in the Everglades National Park, Fla. (AP Photo/Amy E. Conn)Lee Sawyer places a rose in memory of her parents who were killed on ValuJet Flight 592 three years ago today during a memorial service Tuesday, May 11, 1999 in the Everglades National Park, Fla. (AP Photo/Amy E. Conn)This is a video image of one of the wing from the ill-fated ValuJet flight 592 that was pulled from the Florida Everglades Thursday afternoon, May 16, 1996. The ValuJet DC-9 crashed into the Everglades Saturday, May 11, 1996, killing all aboard. (AP Photo/Metro Dade Fire Rescue, Roman Bas, POOL)Florida Game and Fish Commission officers lay a teddy bear and wreaths from family members on the water above the scattered remains of Valujet Flight 592 Wednesday May 15, 1996. Family members of crash victims were taken near the site Wednesday evening, but did not go out into the water where the plane crashed. (AP Photo/Roman Bas/Pool)A recovery crew forms a line as they begin the meticulous job of sifting through the debris at the crash site of ValuJet Flight 592 searching for the remains of 109 passengers and crew Monday, May 13, 1996. The DC-9 jet slammed into the Florida Everglades Saturday shortly after take-off from Miami International Airport. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)A Metro-Dade Marine Patrol sits in a canal Sunday, May 12, 1996 on an airboat blocking any marine traffic near the area where a DC-9 ValuJet Flight 592 carrying 109 passengers crashed in the Everglades moments after take-off from Miami International Airport Saturday. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk)The flight data recorder of ValuJet Airlines flight 592 is shown displayed for news people at the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington Tuesday May 14, 1996. The recorder was aboard the ValuJet DC-9 which crashed in the Florida Everglades Saturday killing all 109 on board. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)Divers work in a small pond area in the Florida Everglades Saturday, May 11, 1996 as they look for the bodies of passengers who were aboard a ValuJet airliner carrying more than 100 people that crashed shortly after takeoff from Miami International Airport. There were no signs of any survivors from the crash. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)
Marilyn Chamberlin walks through the 110 columns making up the ValuJet Memorial as she remembers her daughter Candalyn Kubeck, the captain of ValuJet 592, Tuesday May 11, 1999 in the Everglades National Park, Fla. (AP Photo/Amy E. Conn)
Despite efforts to turn the plane around, the DC-9 plunged nose-down into the Everglades.
"We want closure," FBI Miami Special Agent Jacqueline Fruge said.
A new poster showing how Valenzuela-Reyes may have aged through the years was released along with the reward announcement.
The FBI said Valenzuela-Reyes has connections in Atlanta, where his ex-wife and kids live, and Santiago, Chile, where he also has family and could be living under a false identity.
If captured, Valenzuela-Reyes would face the original charges, in addition to charges for fleeing and failing to appear at his trial.
"We've tried over the years to find him," Fruge said. "It bothers me. I've lived and breathed it for many, many years."
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