A Cessna 402 airplane coasted off the runway at the Taddy Bay Airport on Virgin Gorda on Saturday afternoon, according to the BVI Airports Authority.
The Air Sunshine plane was landing from St. Thomas and carrying eight passengers, but no injuries were reported, said Denniston Fraser, the BVIAA managing director.
The aircraft ran off the runway, across the ramp and onto a small incline, where it stopped and sustained some damage, Mr. Fraser explained.
“I wouldn’t say it was minimal but I wouldn’t stay it was substantial,” he said of the harm to the plane.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation, and the Cessna remains where it stopped, according to the managing director.
Investigators from the United Kingdom’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch will be arriving as soon as possible, he said.
Though Mr. Fraser explained that the accident’s cause is still being investigated and may end up having nothing to do with Virgin Gorda’s airport, he did note that the facility requires special qualifications to land on due to crosswinds and high terrain on the approach.
Pilots need to have 1,500 hours of total flying time, 100 hours on a multiengine piston aircraft, and 50 hours on the plane they are flying before they can land at Taddy Bay, he said.
The sister island has seen more incidents than Beef Island or Anegada, Mr. Fraser added.
Officials from Air Sunshine declined to comment.
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