COCKBURN TOWN — One person is dead after a small plane that departed from South Florida crashed Tuesday while attempting to land at an airport in the Turks and Caicos, officials said.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority confirmed the plane crashed while it was on approach to the international airport. Emergency services quickly responded and attended to the pair.
A short time later, one of them was pronounced dead. The death was first confirmed by the TCI Sun newspaper at the scene.
The small plane after it crashed in Turks and Caicos. (Photo: Action News Guyana)
“Our thoughts remain with the individuals involved in today’s crash and their loved ones,” Arlington Musgrove, the minister with responsibility of the airport authority, said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the Guyana Defense Force confirmed that one of its officers, Captain Dwight Bonus, was among those involved in the single engine aircraft accident in the British overseas territory, 600 miles southeast from Miami.
“Captain Bonus was on personal vacation at the time of the incident,” the statement said. “He has since been medically evacuated and is currently receiving treatment overseas. His condition is reported to be stable.”
The GDF said they are in contact with the relevant authorities and continue to monitor the situation.
The identity of the deceased has not been released. FAA records show the owner of the aircraft was a business, Mob Aviation USA LLC, out of Kissimmee, Florida.
Because the accident occurred internationally, the incident is being investigated by the United Kingdom Air Accidents Investigation Branch. The international airport was shut down briefly, too, but reopened.
By JACQUELINE CHARLES and DEVOUN CETOUTE/Miami Herald
