El Paso CBP Officer Dies In Crash Near Moriarty

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air Interdiction Agent (Pilot Trainee) died while performing training as a result of an aircraft crash that occurred Monday at approximately 12:40 p.m. EDT at Moriarty Airport, near Albuquerque, N.M.

The Air Interdiction Officer who died in the crash is Julio E. Baray. He is survived by his wife and two children.

“Today, the Customs and Border Protection family mourns the loss of Officer Julio Baray,” said Michael Kostlenik, Assistant Commissioner, CBP Office of Air and Marine. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”

Officer Baray, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Mexico, joined the U.S. Border Patrol in September 1998 and served as a K-9 handler before he joined the CBP Office of Air and Marine to become an Air Interdiction Agent in February. He was stationed at El Paso Air Branch, El Paso, Texas.

Officer Baray, 39, was flying a syllabus training mission in a Cessna 210 with an Instructor Pilot (Air Interdiction Agent). The Air Interdiction Agent (the instructor pilot) suffered injuries and was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, N.M., for treatment and is listed in stable condition. He is stationed at El Paso Air Branch in El Paso, Texas.

CBP Office of Air and Marine and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the incident.