BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A crew was hard at work yesterday afternoon (Aug.13) removing the “runaway plane” from its position near the perimeter fencing of the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport (RLB Int’l) to the apron.
The aircraft – identified by the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA) as a 2006 nine-seater Cessna Citation Sovereign - arrived at the RLB Int’l Airport on Thursday evening (Aug. 8) and was parked at the western apron.
Early the following morning (Aug. 9), the aircraft was observed some 600 feet from where it was parked and it appeared to have slid “off the parking area, down a grassy slope, before striking a small tree”.
The aircraft stopped just feet from the southern perimeter fence of the airport compound.
Shortly before 4:00 p.m. yesterday, SKNVibes observed activity around the aircraft and investigations revealed it was being moved from that position and returned to a more appropriate and safer one.
Heavy duty equipment – an excavator said to be that of B&B Backhoe – along with personnel were assisting with the relocation of the aircraft. SKNVibes understands that the aircraft was pulled to the apron with one end of a industrial-type cord attached to it and the other to the excavator.
Unofficial reports reaching SKNVibes suggests that the parked aircraft encountered difficulty with the wind.
The aircraft is still on the airport compound and it is understood that technicians are currently working to repair any part which may have been damaged as a result of the incident.
Shortly after the incident occurred, SCASPA disseminated a press release indicating that investigations were being made by the St. Christopher and Nevis Royal Police Force, the Airport Fire and Rescue Services, along with the National Civil Aviation Department and the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority but no official word on the results of these investigations has been had.
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