Mystery deepens in SVG over small aircraft that disappeared at the weekend

Concerns abound as air traffic controllers and maritime authorities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago, continue to search for an aircraft which disappeared off radar sometime on Friday June 12, 2026 after taking off from the Argyle International Airport (AIA), bound for Tobago’s A.N.R Robinson Airport.

Online records reviewed show that the aircraft is a privately operated Beech 58P Pressurised Baron, registered in the Dominican Republic. The aircraft, bearing registration H1145, arrived at the Argyle International Airport from Canouan on Friday June 12, 2026, subsequently departing soon after; its destination was not publicly listed.

When the aircraft failed to reach Tobago, Air traffic control authorities at the AIA alerted their counterparts in Trinidad and Tobago. Authorities at the Maurice Bishop International Airport in Grenada were also contacted, but they, along with authorities at the AIA, and the A.N.R. Robinson Airport in Tobago, have provided little to no information on the matter.

The twin-engine 5-passenger aircraft with one crew, departed Argyle International Airport at 3:47 p.m. on Friday June 12, 2026, and disappeared from radar at approximately 4:02 p.m., somewhere east of Petit Mustique at an altitude of 4,025 feet.  Tracking data indicates that the plane was operating under visual flight rules (VFR) at an altitude of 4,025 feet and traveling at a speed of approximately 142 knots, when it suddenly disappeared from tracking systems.

According to data from flightradar24, the aircraft at the time of its disappearance was approximately 47 miles south of mainland St. Vincent, flying on a 170-degree bearing. Based on these coordinates, the aircraft’s last known position was over the South Caribbean Sea, putting it in the vicinity of Grenadian or Venezuelan territorial waters when contact was apparently lost. Due to the absence of confirmation of a crash, wreckage, or details regarding the occupants on board, authorities in the islands are said to be treating the aircraft as overdue.

Data also revealed that on Wednesday June 10, 2026, the aircraft arrived at the Argyle International Airport at 2:10 p.m., after leaving Canouan at 1:35 p.m. It later departed Argyle International Airport at 5:31 p.m., arriving in Canouan at 5:58 p.m. On Friday June 12, 2026, it departed Canouan at 2:15 p.m., arriving at the Argyle International Airport at 2:41p.m., before departing at 3:47 p.m., only to disappear at 4:02 p.m.

An Air Traffic Control source at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad told media personnel, “This happened some years ago around Sint Maarten. It was low-flying as well. That aircraft had crashed”.  That source also confirmed to Trinidad and Tobago media that regional aviation authorities were actively searching for the missing plane.

However, aviation officials in the islands have cautioned against jumping to conclusions because while the loss of tracking data has raised concerns, they noted that some pilots and operators occasionally deactivate transponders, meaning the disappearance from radar does not automatically indicate a crash.

The aircraft’s departure was later marked as “Unknown” in publicly available flight-tracking records, and authorities have not officially confirmed whether that aircraft is the same one now being sought.

Up to Sunday, June 14, 2026 officials had not released details regarding the type of aircraft involved, the number of people on board, or whether a formal search-and-rescue operation had been activated, and to date, there has been no official word from the authorities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on the matter.

This is the second aircraft to have disappeared along the Canouan – St. Vincent route in recent years; the other incident occurred in December, 2023 and that case remain unresolved. Search and rescue efforts involving aviation and maritime authorities from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and other neighbouring countries are said to be engaged in a search for the aircraft with registration HI1145.