Owner Says Aircraft Was Stolen Before It Disappeared
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 12.16.08 2200 EST: What started as
the reported disappearance of an aircraft bound for New York has
become something far more mysterious, and perhaps sinister.
FOX News reports the Britten-Norman aircraft -- alternately
reported to be either a twin-engine Islander, or a three-engine
Trislander -- that presumably crashed Monday afternoon near the
Turks and Caicos Islands may have been commandeered before it took
off from Providenciales.
"That plane apparently was stolen," a female employee of Linea
Area Puertorriquena Inc. told the news organization. Luis Perez,
owner of Puerto Rico Airlines, said he planned to report the
missing aircraft as stolen.
Conflicting reports abound regarding the plane's disappearance.
Initial statements from Dominican news sources erroneously
identified the aircraft as N650LT, which is not a valid
registration number on FAA records. Puerto Rico Airlines does
operate a BN-2A MK III Trislander with registration N650LP (similar
to type shown below.)
Authorities in Providenciales say they aren't certain the plane
landed in Turks and Caicos, but rather disappeared while en route
to land there. That coincides with initial reports from a Dominican
aviation official... who also incorrectly identified the owner as
Atlantis Airlines.
Meanwhile, officials with the US Coast Guard say they don't
think the plane was stolen -- and that if it was, that's not
necessarily why it's missing. "It was over the water when they
disappeared -- that’s why we were notified," said Coast Guard
Petty Officer Barry Bena, adding the plane "dropped off radar"
sometime after departing from Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Eleven passengers and one pilot were believed to be onboard the
plane, which may have been heading to New York. As of Tuesday night
there remains no sign of the missing plane, or of any
survivors.
Original Report
1000 EST: Crews are searching in the waters off
the Bahamas for signs of a missing Britten-Norman Islander. The
twin-engine aircraft with 12 people onboard disappeared en route to
a refueling stop in the Bahamas Monday afternoon.
The Associated Press reports the Atlantis Airlines plane took
off from Santiago, Dominican Republic at approximately 3:30 pm
Monday, bound for New York. The aircraft fell off radar about 35
minutes later, shortly after controllers received an emergency
signal.
US Coast Guard search crews are combing a section of the
Atlantic Ocean about four miles west of West Caicos Island, near
the aircraft's last known location. USCG spokesman Nick Ameen says
no wreckage has been found so far.
Dominican Today identified the missing aircraft as N650LT. ANN
will have more details on this story as additional information
becomes available.