What happened
On the early morning of the accident, a Piper PA-42 was performing an emergency medical transport mission. The flight was intended to move a patient from Saint Martin-Princess Juliana Airport to Fort-de-France. However, due to mechanical issues with the originally scheduled operator, the patient was instead transported to Grand Case-L'Espérance Airport to be moved via this secondary flight.
The aircraft was carrying a crew consisting of a pilot and a nurse, along with a doctor and the patient. At 02:39, the aircraft departed from runway 12 at Grand Case-L'Espérance. Approximately one minute after takeoff, while the aircraft was in its initial climb phase, it lost altitude and impacted the Caribbean Sea near Tintamarre Island, roughly three nautical miles from the airport.
Following the crash, debris including a wheel was discovered floating on the water surface at approximately 10:00 local time. Despite the discovery of wreckage, no survivors were located, and the four fatalities were subsequently confirmed.
Findings
- The aircraft experienced a loss of altitude during the initial climb phase immediately following departure.