Plane runs off runway at Canefield Airport

Canefield, Dominica, 8th January, 2015- (Sun) - A small aircraft crashed at the southern end of the Canefield airstrip this morning.

Official details of the accident are not yet available.

Security personnel on the site of the accident were not inclined to provide reporters with information on the accident.

Apparently the small plane nose-dived into a fence near the Al Motors end of the airstrip and a wing of the aircraft as well as the front were slightly damaged.

Dozens of curious on-lookers gathered as a slight persistent drizzle fell and security officials cordoned the area.

"I don't know what happened; I can't tell you what happened," a police officer on the scene told the Sun.

Another official at the terminal building was also not willing to divulge information on the crash; he referred us to Benoit Bardouille, the CEO of the Dominica Port Authority. Bardouille was not immediately available for comment on the accident.

Unconfirmed information indicate that there were seven passengers on the aircraft; one was slightly injured.

Built in 1979,the Canefield airport is one of two airports in Dominica; the other, and larger, is the Douglas Charles Airport (formally Melville Hall airport) situated in the North East of Dominica, near Marigot.

The runway at Canefield is only 3130 feet long; it is constructed along the beach hence it is subjected to the effect of cross-winds. Canefield is used mainly by small private aircrafts and island hoppers.