- St Vincent Prime Minister Offers Condolences to Families of Bequia Plane Crash Victims
St Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves on Wednesday offered condolences to the families of those killed in the Bequia plane crash.
On Thursday, January 4, a US-registered private plane carrying four people crashed shortly after taking off from J.F. Mitchell Airport on the Grenadine island of Bequia, killing everyone on board.
Robert Sachs, the pilot and owner of the single-engine plane, died, as did actor Christian Klepser, 51, and his two (2) daughters, Madita Klepser, 10, and Annik Klepser, 12.
“I’ve taken the opportunity to speak to the widow of Bob Sachs, the pilot.“ I made three attempts, on the third attempt I got to speak to her the first day or so, naturally. „It would have been difficult to be taking calls“.
“I’ve spoken to the close friends in Bequia of the father, Christian, and the two children and extend our condolences.“ „I have not been able to get the telephone number of the mother of the children. I will continue to seek to get that number, and when the occasion is right in all the circumstances of the grief, I will speak with her.“
Authorities in St Vincent on Thursday, 4 January 2019, evening, said the single-engine aircraft, Registration Number N4023B, crashed in the sea, one (1) nautical mile west of Petit Nevis, at 12.11 p.m. The aircraft was en route to St. Lucia, its final destination.
Several residents who spoke with the St Vincent Times said that on takeoff, the aircraft made a sputtering sound.
“It sounded like when a vehicle is struggling – you know, stalling, struggling for power to go up a hill,“ a local resident, Danroy Joesph, remarked.
Fishermen and divers from Paget Farm went to the scene of the incident in their boats to render assistance. The SVG Coast Guard was informed and quickly travelled to Paget Farm, Bequia, to lead in the rescue efforts.
The wreckage of N4023B was recovered on Monday, 8. The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) has begun an investigation.
