(Updated 3:22PM)
Two passengers were taken to hospital for medical treatment after Wednesday afternoon’s crash of an SVG aircraft at the John A. Osborne Airport in Gerald’s.
Paul Gravel, General Manager of SVG Air which operates under the subsidiary ABM Air for its Montserrat-Antigua route told Discover Montserrat late Wednesday that the accident is still under investigation. The pilot was transporting six passengers to Montserrat from Antigua at the time of the incident.
The 9-seater Islander could be seen in social media images nose down in a ditch on the Southern side of the runway.
Emergency crews responded quickly to the incident which occurred after 5PM.
The Ministry of Communications, Works & Labour which has responsibility for the airport said in a statement Thursday that “On 29 September 2021, SVG Islander (BN2) J8VBI aircraft flight 207 with 7 souls and 1 hour 20 minutes fuel, en route from Antigua, landed on John A. Osborne Airport (Montserrat) at 2133 UTC or 5:33pm LST and veered to the right, taking it off the runway where it came to rest on the southern embankment.
“Thankfully, no lives were lost, however two passengers sustained injuries. We hope that all passengers will recover quickly from the distressing event,” the statement read.
Governor Andrew Pearce on Thursday morning said “I and my team would like to express our sincere sympathy to all those involved in yesterday’s incident at our airport. We hope that the two injured passengers will recover swiftly. Such incidents are inevitably traumatic for all concerned but we hope the stress will ease soon now that all are safe. That no lives were lost is the most important thing. We would also like to record our thanks to the emergency services and airport staff who responded swiftly with courage and commitment.”
The Airport reopened at 8:30a.m on 30 September 2021, for normal operations.
The governor said the UK’s Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) have engaged their local Accident Investigation Manager (AIM) to commence the investigation process which began last night. A report will be published when all investigations are completed.
The airport runway resurfacing project was completed in April 2021 as part of an effort to improve the facility’s infrastructure. In years past, Fly Montserrat, which is a local company, has had several similar incidents at the local airport.
Reports are that it had not been raining and it is unknown if the airport surface was wet.
This story will be updated as more details become available.
