Photo: Reproduction/DESERT JET
The disappearance of a business jet that went missing in the Caribbean twelve days ago becomes a mystery worthy of a film. A Gulfstream III disappeared from radar on Dec. 22, just seven minutes after it took off on a tourist flight from Canouan Airport in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the southern Caribbean.
There were three people on board, but their names and identities were not released. According to local newspaper the St. Vincent Times, authorities knew the identities of the crew and passenger and confirmed that at least two of them were Mexican nationals.
The transponder was reportedly turned off intentionally and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was investigating the plane's possible use to transport drugs. According to experts from the St. Vincent Times, the registered flight plan was inconsistent.
The planned flight was a tourist trip around the island and was originally scheduled to land less than two hours after takeoff, but the GIII had fuel for more than four hours. Initial reports said a warning was issued after the plane failed to land at the scheduled time.
The St. Vincent Times reported that the plane was believed to have landed on a private airstrip in South America, possibly in Venezuela, which is just an hour from the Grenadines.
The FAA registry, the Anac of the United States, states that the aircraft is registered in Cheyenne, Wyoming to Jetsteam Aviation Inc. The company's website is unavailable.
Similarities to flight MH370
The Caribbean incident drew comparisons to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, considered one of global aviation's greatest mysteries. The plane mysteriously disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014 with 227 passengers on board and 12 crew members. Ten years after the plane's disappearance, theories about what may have happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 continue to take over social media.
An official report from the company responsible for the flight shows that the plane's route was manually changed towards the Andaman Sea in southern Burma. Military radar data analyzed by experts suggests MH370 may have flown toward the Indian Ocean and Antarctica for six hours before crashing when it ran out of fuel.
One of the theories put forward is that the disappearance of MH370 was due to a suicide plan by pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, which was followed by the murder of passengers. The suspicion was reinforced after investigations revealed that the route changes and deactivation of the plane's communications were done manually. However, the Malaysian government assured that it had examined the pilot and copilot and neither had shown any suspicious behavior before takeoff.
Source: O Globo