the santa monica airlines plane took off just before night from the city of merida en route to simon bolivar international airports outside the major cities of caracas . richard marquez , director of chavez ' s fire management agency in valladolid , said the flight has fails to encounter controller centers . civil protection chief general alfredo camacho told reporters that it is unknown whether or not the plane disappeared or is simply missing .
A plane with 46 passengers has not contacted control towers.