Local (St.Barth's) with map showing crash site
http://www.st-barths.com/ac_crash2_eng.html
There was a tragic airplane accident in St. Barths, on Saturday the 24th of March, a little after 4 PM local time.
An Air Caraïbes Twin-Otter aircraft, arriving from St. Maarten's Juliana Airport crashed into a house in Public during its approach to the St. Barths airstrip.
The plane was carrying seventeen passengers and two crew.
Numerous eye-witness reports claim that the aircraft was making what seemed to be a normal approach and had crossed the shoreline, when it suddenly turned to the left, began descending rapidly, and fell upon an small St. Barths house below the road that runs between Public and Corossol, some distance from the airport.
Shortly after impact, the plane burst into flames, which rapidly consumed both the aircraft and the house.
Everyone on board was killed as well as an elderly man living in the house.
Though it remains to be officially confirmed, it appears that most of the passengers were arriving from Paris via St. Maarten. As a flight connecting between Paris and St.Barths is, strictly speaking, a French domestic flight, the carriers are not required to identify the nationality of each passenger, but it appears that the passenger list includes thirteen French nationals, one Dutch national, a Belgian couple, and one American. Two of the French passengers were recognized as St. Barths' residents.
The weather was clear and calm, and the customary turbulence during the approach was, if anything, less than usual.
Fire fighters and police rushed immediately to the scene, determined the condition of the victims, and secured the area. A team of French forensic and technical experts were quickly dispatched to St. Barths from both the Antilles and from Paris, some arriving within hours by military helicopter.
A thorough investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident, but it will take some time to reach a conclusion. The aircraft was not equipped with a "black box", a device that records the details of the functioning of the aircraft, and, as a result, the precise sequence of events that caused the crash may be difficult to establish.
The pilot in command was highly qualified, with more than 3000 hours in the aircraft type, and hundreds of landings in St. Barths.
At the request of Mayor Bruno Magras, and by popular consensus, Monday, March 26th will be observed as an island-wide day of mourning for the victims of the crash, with schools, public services, and most businesses closed. A religious service will be held at the Catholic church in Gustavia Monday evening at 6 PM, conducted jointly by a Catholic priest and an Anglican minister.