Stephon Nicholas
An aircraft which left St Vincent and the Grenadines en route to Tobago on Friday has gone missing.
The private plane reportedly departed from Argyle International Airport bound for ANR Robinson International Airport. However, Air Traffic Control lost contact with the aircraft during the journey, and it never arrived in Tobago.
A source at Air Traffic Control in Trinidad and Tobago confirmed the situation this morning, saying Argyle contacted Piarco about the matter and authorities are “looking for the aircraft.”
He told Guardian Media the aircraft was flying low under visual flight rules (VFR), below 4,000 feet.
The aircraft’s journey was tracked on the Flightradar24 website, which showed it at 4,025 feet and travelling at approximately 142 knots. However, all data was suddenly lost during the flight.
“This happened some years ago around Sint Maarten. It was low-flying as well. That aircraft had crashed,” the Air Traffic Control source said.
However, he said some aircraft deliberately switch off their transponders.
Meanwhile, media in St Vincent told Guardian Media that authorities there have remained tight-lipped about the matter. The model of the aircraft, the number of people aboard and the registration number remain unknown.
This is a developing story.
