Missing Beechcraft Baron from St Vincent to Tobago later found with no reported loss of lives

A Beechcraft Baron vanished over the Caribbean after leaving St Vincent. Get the latest on the missing aircraft investigation and what authorities have found.

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) -- The St Vincent and the Grenadines government Monday said that the Dominican Republic-registered aircraft that went missing en route to Tobago last weekend has been found with no loss of lives. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, St Clair Leacock, told a radio programme that international, regional, and national agencies have located the aircraft. He gave no indication as to the location. A statement from the Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Sustainable Development had stated that the twin-engine Beechcraft Baron -identified as a B58T or 58P Pressurized Baron- bearing the registration number HI-1145, had departed Argyle International Airport here at 11:52 am (local time) last Friday with two people on board. The plane was due to land at the A.N.R. Robinson International Airport in Tobago one hour and five minutes later. Leacock told radio listeners that since the disappearance of the plane he had been in continuous contact with the Commissioner of Police, as well as regional security bodies including the Barbados-based Regional Security System (RSS) and the Trinidad-based Caribbean Community (Caricom) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS). He said that the authorities have names associated with the plane, noting “I cannot share all of the information that we have on it”. Leacock said that revealing specific operational details could compromise the ongoing work of the agencies involved and that the intelligence and security forces are closely monitoring the situation. He said the authorities are focused “not so much (on) the aircraft because aircraft don’t fly itself, (but) the people who fly in that aircraft” so they can take an appropriate course of action. Prior to its disappearance, the aircraft was being monitored on the flight tracking website Flightradar24, which showed it operating under visual flight rules (VFR) at an altitude of 4,025 feet and traveling at a speed of 142 knots. All tracking data abruptly ceased mid-flight over the Southern Caribbean Sea, placing the aircraft somewhere near Grenadian or Venezuelan territorial waters.

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) — Regional aviation authorities continued search-and-rescue operations on Sunday after a small aircraft travelling from St Vincent and the Grenadines to Tobago disappeared over the southern Caribbean Sea. The Dominican Republic-registered Beech 58P Pressurised Baron aircraft, registration HI-1145, departed Argyle International Airport in St Vincent at 11:52 am on Friday and was scheduled to arrive at the ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago. Authorities said air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft while it was en route, triggering a regional search involving aviation and emergency officials in several Caribbean territories. Flight tracking data showed the aircraft was operating under visual flight rules (VFR) at an altitude of approximately 4,025 feet and travelling at about 142 knots before its signal disappeared. Its last recorded position was over the southern Caribbean Sea, in the vicinity of Grenadian or Venezuelan territorial waters. Officials have not disclosed how many people were on board the aircraft, nor have they released the identities of the pilot or any passengers. The Beech Baron is capable of carrying a pilot and up to five passengers. Up to Sunday, authorities had not confirmed that the aircraft had crashed, and no wreckage had been located. Sources familiar with the investigation said air traffic controllers at Argyle International Airport alerted Piarco Air Traffic Control in Trinidad and Tobago after communication with the aircraft was lost. A source at Piarco confirmed that regional aviation authorities were actively searching for the missing aircraft. Flight records indicate that HI-1145 had been operating normally in the days leading up to its disappearance. The aircraft completed several flights between Canouan and mainland St Vincent on June 10 and June 12 without incident and is understood to have regularly operated services between Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago. The disappearance is the second involving an aircraft travelling along the Canouan to St Vincent route in recent years. Another aircraft vanished after operating in the area in December 2023, and that case remains unresolved. Authorities in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and neighbouring territories said search efforts were continuing as they sought any sign of the aircraft or its occupants.

A twin-engine Beech Baron vanished after departing St Vincent for Tobago. Coast Guard & military join regional search. Get the latest updates here.