Piarco International Airport - Accidents and Incidents

Accidents and Incidents

• 1963 - (January 5) A Cessna Skywagon carrying two Swedish persons, Torgny Sommelius (Pilot) and Erik Strandmark, crashed landed and caught fire at Piarco killing both of them (2 Deaths).
• 1984 - (July 29) An Aeropostal DC-9 flight from Caracas to Curaçao with 87 persons on board was hijacked in the air by 5 gunmen and forced to land at Piarco. The Trinidad and Tobago Government refused to negotiate with the hijackers and the aircraft departed hours later.
• 1990 - (January 17) A man jumped a fence and was sucked into a British Airways Boeing 747 engine. 1 death.
• 2001 - An Aeropostal MD-80 broke its nose wheel after falling into open trench on taxiway. No deaths.
• 2004 - There were a series of collisions involving ground operator Servisair and three separate aircraft (BWIA 737-800 reg. 9Y-GEO preparing to fly to Miami, BWIA A340-300 reg. 9Y-TJN, prepared to fly to London Heathrow, and Continental 737-800 en route to Houston's Bush Airport.) The damage done to the aircraft was minor. No deaths occurred.
• 2005 - (April 18) Tobago Express Dash 8-300 made an emergency landing after the nose wheel failed to deploy. No deaths.
• 2007 - Briko Air Cessna 172 crash-landed after a botched landing by a student pilot. No deaths.
• 2007 - In October, both Piarco and what was then known as the Crown Point International Airport (now the Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson International Airport) were shut down for at least 2 days due to failed negotiations with the airport staff for better working wages. All flights operated through Piarco and Crown Point were canceled, severely disrupting passengers traveling to Caribbean and International destinations.
• 2007 - A Caribbean Airlines flight from Norman Manley International Airport with stops at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados and the Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten encountered smoke in the engine of a Boeing 737-800 upon arrival in Piarco. Auxiliary power was lost in the cabin, but there were no reports of injuries of the 84 passengers.
• 2008 - A Briko Air C402 suffered a failure of the right main gear and crash landed, closing the airport for two hours. No deaths.
• 2008 - August 15 An American Airlines Boeing 757-200 made an emergency landing after hydraulic system problems. The aircraft landed safely but the brakes locked up and the plane couldn't exit the runway. Passengers were ferried to the terminal and mechanics took some three hours to remove the aircraft, closing the airport to flight operations. No injuries.
• 2009 - Piarco and Crown Point International Airports suffered massive delays and cancellations after aircraft fuel plagued with massive amounts of sulphur was discovered, rendering the fuel unusable. Airlines to and from Piarco and Crown Point either cancelled or delayed their flights.
• 2010-(July 14) An American Airlines Boeing 767-300 operating flight 1668 to Miami International was forced to make an emergency landing at the field following a bird strike.No Injuries or deaths were reported among the 212 passengers and crew.
• 2011- (August 12) A North American Airlines plane was on approach near the Piarco International Airport just after 2pm when the pilots reported smoke coming from the cockpit. The aircraft managed to land safely at the airport with no injuries.
• 2012- (October 26) A Caribbean Airlines Flight BW300,took off from Piarco International Airport bound for Caracas with four crew and 44 passengers had a section of exterior paneling,which became detached on lift-off at 6.49 a.m. The aircraft, an ATR72, landed back at the Piarco International Airport safely at 7.15 a.m, without injuries.