Aircraft missing on flight from St Vincent to Tobago
Authorities across the southern Caribbean are urgently searching for a Dominican Republic-registered Beech 58P Pressurized Baron that vanished without a trace during a flight from St. Vincent to Tobago. The aircraft, carrying the registration number HI-1145, disappeared over the Southern Caribbean Sea on the afternoon of June 12th.
The aircraft departed from Argyle International Airport in St. Vincent at 11:52 a.m. with two people on board. It was destined for the ANR Robinson International Airport in Crown Point, Tobago. Before its disappearance, the journey was monitored on Flightradar24, which indicated the plane was operating under visual flight rules (VFR) at an altitude of 4,025 feet and a speed of approximately 142 knots.
Contact with the aircraft was abruptly lost around 12:11 p.m. as it flew south of St. Vincent airspace. The sudden cessation of all tracking data placed its last known coordinates somewhere in the vicinity of Grenadian or Venezuelan territorial waters.
A massive regional search and rescue operation involving multiple agencies has been launched in the wake of the plane’s disappearance. Minister of Civil Aviation Eli Zakour confirmed that emergency protocols were immediately activated by the Piarco Area Control Centre after Argyle authorities alerted them to the lost contact.
“Both private and military aircraft have visually searched the area around the last known position of the aircraft,” Zakour stated, adding that regional security services and the Coast Guard are actively involved. Local pilots in the area have also been instructed to be on the lookout for any signs of a crash or an oil spill. Despite these high-priority efforts, no wreckage has been located, and there has been no confirmation of a crash.
The circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s vanishing have raised questions among aviation experts. Former head of civil aviation Ramesh Lutchmedial revealed that near Grenada, the aircraft made a turn to the southeast just before its transponder was switched off, cutting off all tracking signals.
Lutchmedial explained that while transponders cannot be disabled in large commercial airliners, the system can be turned off in smaller planes by pulling a circuit breaker. He noted that while such occurrences are rare, in small aircraft they can sometimes involve deliberate action, stating that the situation has rightfully gained the attention of national security officials across the islands.
Prior to the disappearance, HI-1145 had been operating without reported issues. It successfully completed several domestic trips between Canouan Airport and mainland St. Vincent between June 10th and June 12th. The aircraft was also known to frequently travel between Grenada and Trinidad.
This incident highlights a disturbing pattern in the region, marking the second unresolved aircraft disappearance along the Canouan to St. Vincent flight path in recent months, following a similar incident in December 2023. Aviation authorities and search teams are continuing their efforts in earnest as they await any communication or signs of the missing plane.