An Air Antilles Twin Otter aircraft operating a scheduled flight from Guadeloupe to St. Barts came to a smashing end after it crashed into a helicopter after experiencing a runway excursion.
On August 24, Air Antilles performed scheduled flight 3S722 from Pointe-a-Pitre (PTP) in Guadeloupe to the famous Gustaf III Airport Airport in Saint Barthélemy (SBH), more commonly known as St. Barts. The flight was operated with a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter registered F-OMYS.
The aircraft approached from the sea side and touched down on runway 28, but experienced difficulties resulting in them veering off to the left onto the grass. The aircraft then collided with a parked helicopter just short of one of the taxiways.
According to RCI.fm, there were eight people on board the aircraft including the two pilots. Fire and rescue officials reports that there were no fatalities, with only one passenger suffering minor injuries. There was no one in the helicopter at the time of the crash.
The Direction générale de l’Aviation civile (DGAC) has opened an investigation into the matter. After being temporarily closed, the runway has since re-opened for regular operations.
Air Antilles later issued a statement saying:
“The incident occurred at 11:42 a.m. on flight 3S722 from Pointe-à-Pitre to Saint-Barth. The aircraft is a Twin DHC6 registered F-OMYS.
“At this stage, according to the captain, there are no injuries to be declared. 6 passengers and 2 crew members were on board this flight. Our plane during landing struck a helicopter which was on the parking lot.”
[Featured Photo: Forwarded]
