Caribbean Plande crash

[Doug G]

[img]Antigua plane crash leaves three dead
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A British couple and pilot reportedly killed in small plane crash at VC Bird International Airport. (Photo: MarzMar via Twitter)
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Monday, October 8, 2012 – An island hop between Antigua and Montserrat turned deadly for passengers on a small Fly Montserrat plane yesterday (October 7) around 4:15 pm.

Reports are that the Britten-Norman BN2 A Islander, registration VP-MON performing flight 5M-107 took off from the VC Bird International Airport's Runway 7, but lost height immediately after becoming airborne and crashed to the ground, nose first near Runway 10. The aircraft was reportedly carrying one crew and three passengers.

Initial police reports stated that a British couple who were passengers on the flight died in the accident, while the other two people were taken to the Mount St John’s Medical Centre hospital in critical condition where the pilot later succumbed to his injuries. The other passenger has survived so far but with critical injuries.

Onlookers suggested bad weather conditions may have played a role in the crash as heavy rains accompanied by thunder and lightning was witnessed around the time of the crash.

FlyMontserrat spokeswoman Karen Allen said the airline was still gathering information about the crash and expects to issue a statement later.

Airport authorities closed the airport for just over two hours as scores of emergency personnel converged on the scene.

Flights on LIAT, British Airways and American Airlines were disrupted by the temporary closure as flights in and out of Antigua were suspended.

Newly appointed chief executive officer of the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority Stanley Smith has pledged an immediate review of the airport’s emergency response procedures following Sunday’s deadly crash

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/n ... z28lXibEgv[/img]

[img]VP-MON crashed just after take-off yesterday afternoon at Antigua airport. The pilot and two of the three passengers were killed. The other passenger is in hospital.

I arrived in Antigua at 2 (LIAT was early) and was going to travel on the flight but decided to stay with friends. I with a friend (connected with the Airport admin) at Cloggy's near Nelson's Dockyard when we heard the tragic news.

Currently, I am in the departure lounge awaiting Flight FM 103 due to depart in 90 minutes.

I am feeling quite apprehensive.


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[Doug G]

Three of us got on the plane at 8:30am this morning.

Then a couple minutes later a lady from Fly Montserrat advised that we would have to get out and transfer to the second plane. Our baggage would follow on a later flight.
The reason was that the pilot that was scheduled to fly us was the one that was supposed to fly the flight that crashed yesterday, but had swapped with a friend, i.e. the pilot that died and he was feeling so terrible that he could not (just then) bring himself to get into the plane.

It was unnerving to take off and see the wreckage of the other aircraft VP-MON

Made it safely and finally got baggage.

I did observe that the pilot appeared to take extra precautions(?) e.g. line of turn after take-off, line of approach, using flaps etc.

[Robin Jones]

"...Currently, I am in the departure lounge awaiting Flight FM 103 due to depart in 90 minutes.
I am feeling quite apprehensive..."

Tragic? Yes quite tragic. But the odds of you crashing are pretty small.
Just try to remember that the pilot doesn't want to die any more than you do.... and, most likely, he's better trained at flyin the plane.

Hope they find the cause soon. Although I would doubt if there's an inherent flaw. That aircraft type has been flying quite a while.

[Doug G]

When I find out what officially happened I will post it on here.

I am in Montserrat at present.

I am scheduled to fly back with Fly Montserrat on Thursday.

[clm]

On the show Man Woman wild when they filmed in one of the deserted towns on Montserrat they showed what someone who saw it described as a little wheeler moke half buried in ash abandoned in one of the garages... Treasure hunt?

Chris

[Doug G]

On the show Man Woman wild when they filmed in one of the deserted towns on Montserrat they showed what someone who saw it described as a little wheeler moke half buried in ash abandoned in one of the garages... Treasure hunt?

Chris

That would now be buried under over 10'0" of solidified ash.

[clm]

Buried Treasure on a tropical Island!

Hmm, I don't know when the show was filmed but it aired first on October 18, 2011 and being a reality show I'm not sure how long it would have taken them to get it ready for air.

Chris

[Doug G]

I am booked to fly to and from Montserrat on Tuesday (Tuesday is the 13th ) on SVG.