Tropic Air Flight 711

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Tropic Air Flight 711
V3-HIG 20.1.23 TZA.jpg
V3-HIG, the aircraft involved in the hijacking, seen in 2023
Hijacking
Date17 April 2025 (2025-04-17)
Summary Hijacking
Siteover Belize City
Aircraft
Aircraft type Cessna 208 Grand Caravan EX
Operator Tropic Air
IATA flight No.9N711
ICAO flight No.TOS711
Call signTROPISER 711
Registration V3-HIG
Flight origin Corozal Airport, Belize
Destination John Greif II Airport, Belize
Occupants16 (including hijacker)
Passengers14
Crew2
Fatalities1 (hijacker)
Injuries3
Survivors15

On 17 April 2025, a Tropic Air Cessna 208 Grand Caravan EX, operating as Tropic Air Flight 711 was hijacked by a passenger armed with a knife while flying between the Belizean towns of Corozal and San Pedro. [1] The hijacker was shot dead by an armed passenger after the plane performed an emergency landing at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport.

Contents

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Cessna 208 Grand Caravan EX manufactured in 2018 operated by Belize airline Tropic Air. [2] The aircraft was registered as V3-HIG. [3]

Passengers and crew

On board the flight there were 14 passengers, including the hijacker, of which two were American nationals and a small child.

Hijacking

The flight was operating as Flight 9N711. [4] At 08:17 CST (UTC−6), the aircraft took off from Corozal Airport headed to John Greif II Airport. [5] [3] Six minutes later, the aircraft began squawking 7700, indicating a general emergency. [3]

The plane made a sharp turn and began to circle over the Belizean coast. While over the Caribbean Sea, the aircraft requested that other aircraft in the area, including a helicopter of Astrum Helicopter Tours, keep track of it. [5]

The aircraft flew over Belize City until it nearly ran out of fuel and landed, at which point the hijacker began stabbing passengers with a knife. Two were injured while others ran to the back of the plane. The plane then landed at Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport in Belize City. Upon landing, another passenger with a license to carry a firearm shot the hijacker dead. Both injured victims were taken to a hospital and later recovered. A 49-year-old United States national and military veteran Akinyela Sawa Taylor was identified as the hijacker. Taylor had entered Belize some days before the hijacking, and during this time, he was reported to have attacked a police officer. [6] The hijacking lasted for about an hour and a half. [7] His motive was unknown but he demanded that the pilot take him out of the country. Belize's police commissioner Chester Williams said that Taylor had previously been denied entry to Belize. [8]

Reactions

U.S. Embassy in Belize public affairs officer Luke Martin said the embassy expressed its regret over the incident. [7] Police commissioner Chester Williams said that it was still unknown how the hijacker managed to smuggle a knife on board, but he cited the lack of security screenings in the country's smaller airports as the probable cause. [9]

Tropic Air said the attempted hijacking was a "serious and unprecedented inflight emergency". [7] The CEO of the airline also described as that the actions of the pilot were "nothing short of heroic", and that they will be offering support to the injured passengers. [10]

Aftermath

Tropic Air announced on April 30 that it will implement stricter security measures, as a result of the hijacking. These measures include personal item and physical searches. [11] On the same day Belizean authorities announced that an investigation on the incident is ongoing, and that a full report will be published. [12]

References

  1. ↑ Miller, Joshua Rhett; Stanton, Andrew; Lamon, Jason (17 April 2025). "Tropic Air plane hijacked by knife-wielding man". Newsweek . Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  2. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "Unlawful Interference Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX V3-HIG, Thursday 17 April 2025". asn.flightsafety.org. Archived from the original on 21 April 2025. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Labanauskaite, Goda (18 April 2025). "Passenger saves 15 on Tropic Air flight from armed hijacker". AeroTime. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  4. ↑ Humes, Aaron (17 April 2025). "Government promises "thorough inquiry" into hijacking incident; no link to "broader threats"". Breaking Belize News. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  5. 1 2 Bennett, Brianna (18 April 2025). "U.S. National Hijacks Tropic Air flight; Hijacker Dead". Channel 5 Belize .
  6. ↑ "Tropic Air Implements Stricter Security After Flight Hijacking - Greater Belize Media". 30 April 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "Plane passenger shoots, kills US hijacker on Belize flight". Agence France-Presse . New Zealand Herald. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  8. ↑ Duncan, Natricia (17 April 2025). "US man shot dead after hijacking small passenger plane in Belize". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  9. ↑ "US citizen shot dead after hijacking small plane in Belize". CNN . Reuters. 17 April 2025.
  10. ↑ Halsall, Cherise; Gibbs, Anselm; Forrester, Megan (17 April 2025). "American citizen hijacks small plane in Belize, 3 injured: Police". ABC News .
  11. ↑ Keme-Palacio, Benita. "Tropic Air Implements Stricter Security After Flight Hijacking". Channel 5 Belize. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  12. ↑ Humes, Aaron. "Almost 2 weeks after Tropic Air hijacking Government promises 'full report' on deadly incident". Breaking Belize News. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
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