A regional search operation is underway after a small aircraft travelling from St Vincent to Tobago disappeared over the southern Caribbean Sea on Friday.The missing aircraft, a Dominican Republic-registered Beech 58P Pressurized Baron bearing registration HI-1145, departed Argyle International Airport in St Vincent at 11.52 a.m. bound for the ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago.Air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft while it was en route, prompting aviation authorities across the region to begin efforts to locate it.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft flying under visual flight rules (VFR) at an altitude of about 4,025 feet and travelling at approximately 142 knots before its signal abruptly disappeared.Its last known position placed it over the southern Caribbean Sea, in the vicinity of Grenadian or Venezuelan territorial waters.Authorities have not disclosed how many people were on board or released the identities of the pilot or any passengers.The Beech Baron is capable of carrying one pilot and between four and five passengers.Up to Sunday, there had been no confirmation that the aircraft had crashed and no wreckage had been found.Sources said air traffic controllers at Argyle International Airport alerted Piarco Air Traffic Control after communication with the aircraft was lost.A source at Piarco confirmed to local media that regional aviation authorities were actively searching for the missing plane.Flight records indicate that HI-1145 had been operating normally in the days before its disappearance. The aircraft completed several flights between Canouan and mainland St Vincent on June 10 and June 12 without incident.The aircraft is also understood to have regularly operated flights between Grenada and Trinidad.The disappearance is the second involving an aircraft travelling along the Canouan-St Vincent route in recent years. Another aircraft vanished after operating in the area in December 2023, and that case remains unresolved.Search-and-rescue efforts involving aviation authorities in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and neighbouring territories were continuing up to Sunday as officials sought any sign of the missing aircraft.
