Air Taxi Crash Claims One Life: Second Incident in 2024

July 14, 2024 10:24 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Doddy Morris.

Air Taxi suffered its second disastrous plane crash of 2024, landing at Montmartre Plantation with five people on board, including the pilot, yesterday afternoon.

This morning, the Vanuatu Daily Post received news that one of the five survivors, who was badly hurt, has died from his injuries.

Flying from TAFEA Province back to Port Vila, an eyewitness and first responder to the incident told the Vanuatu Daily Post that initially, the aircraft attempted to land on the Montmartre football field. However, due to the field being crowded with students for their sports day, it changed direction and landed in the plantation.

“I was at home when the students yelled about the plane crash, and we could smell the aftermath of the crash. This was around 3:30 pm,” he told Vanuatu Daily Post.

“Two of them had serious injuries. I assisted the one who was badly injured, while the other, whose head was bleeding, was crying. He wanted me to lift him up, and I did so, positioning him as he wanted. The other passengers and the pilot were already out of the plane and only two were still stuck at that time.

“They had to cut everything below him in order for him to get out of where he was stuck and place him on the stretcher, and he was taken to the hospital by ProMedical. However, it took an hour before they arrived. When ProMedical came, I was still with him.”

He added that the plane struck two coconut trees and was badly damaged, with the front heavily smashed.The Vanuatu Daily Post still has no confirmation on what caused the crash, but according to sources, the pilot told them that the plane faced some technical issues and there was also strong wind before the crash.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Matai Seremaiah, was also present at the scene yesterday afternoon.

The pilot is safe, however, it was alleged that it was the same pilot that had an accident involving an Air Taxi vehicle with the plate number 5986, in the early hours of Friday 12th of July, just three days earlier.

This marks the second crash suffered by Air Taxi this year, following its first crash in Sola, Vanualava Island, when the Minister of Finance, John Salong, was one of the passengers on board the aircraft.