What happened
On a local flight departing from Canouan Airport at 14:27 local time, an aircraft carrying one pilot and approximately three passengers vanished from radar tracking. The flight was roughly six minutes into its journey when the plane disappeared from surveillance screens. Two minutes after the loss of radar contact, the aircraft impacted the sea at 14:35 local time.
At the time of the incident, the aircraft's movements were reportedly being monitored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). There are indications that the pilot may have intentionally deactivated the transponder following takeoff. It remains unconfirmed whether any wreckage from the crash has been recovered from the ocean.
Findings
Investigations into the disappearance suggest the possibility of illegal flight operations. A significant factor in the loss of tracking was the potential manual deactivation of the transponder by the pilot after the aircraft left the airport.