Hummingbird Air was an airline offering scheduled and chartered

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. History The concept of air taxis existed as early as the 1910s. This concept goes back as early as 1917 with Glenn Curtiss’ prototype, the auto-plane. Furthermor ...

services as well as cargo flights in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. It was based at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on the island of St. Croix,

U.S. Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

."Profile on Hummingbird Air"
''CAPA - Centre for Aviation''. Retrieved 30 December 2015. The airline was founded in late 2013 by Sam Raphael, a

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

hotelier A hotel manager, hotelier, or lodging manager is a person who manages the operation of a hotel, motel, resort, or other lodging-related establishment. Management of a hotel operation includes, but is not limited to: management of hotel staff, b ...

who wanted to improve air service to

. As of April 1, 2017, Hummingbird Air ceased operations. It served five destinations in the Caribbean with a fleet of three

Beechcraft Model 99 The Beechcraft Model 99 is a civilian aircraft produced by American manufacturer Beechcraft. It is also known as the Beech 99 Airliner and the Commuter 99. The 99 is a twin-engine, unpressurized, 15 to 17 passenger seat turboprop aircraft, deriv ...

aircraft. The company slogan was ''Connecting the hidden Caribbean.''

History

The owner of Hummingbird Air, Sam Raphael, had expressed issues with air service to

as early as 2010. As the owner of the Jungle Bay Resort on the island, he claimed the lack of direct flights had turned potential customers away from his resort."Hummingbird Air begins charter flights into Canefield Airport in Dominica"
''TheDominican.net''. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2015. On 31 August 2013, Raphael announced his intent to start the airline, claiming it would be important to the Dominican tourism industry. Hummingbird Air commenced operations in late 2013 with charter flights. It inaugurated flights to Dominica on 27 July 2014, from St. Thomas. In October 2015, the airline obtained Part 135 certification from the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

, allowing it to operate scheduled flights. On 17 August 2015, a Hummingbird Air aircraft crash-landed in

Barbuda Barbuda (; ) is an island and dependency located in the eastern Caribbean forming part of the twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda as an autonomous entity. Barbuda is located approximately north of Antigua. The only settlements on the i ...

.Gilbert, Ernice (18 August 2015)
"Hummingbird Air Crash-Lands In Barbuda; No One Injured"
''The Virgin Islands Consortium''. Retrieved 31 December 2015. Another crash-landing occurred in

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

on 8 November. The airline responded by immediately suspending all passenger operations and launching an internal investigation. The

Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) is a civil aviation authority serving the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The headquarters are in Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda. The agency serves as the aviation acciden ...

also started an investigation of the incident.Malone, Tameika (9 November 2015)
"Hummingbird Air cancels all flights after another crash landing"
''Antigua Observer''. Retrieved 31 December 2015. Following a period of reorganization and retraining of its pilots, Hummingbird Air resumed operations on 3 May 2016, in time for the summer travel season.

Destinations

As of May 2016, Hummingbird Air serviced the following destinations:

Fleet

As of May 2016, Hummingbird Air operated a fleet of three

aircraft.

Accidents and incidents

* On 17 August 2015, a Hummingbird Air

flying from V. C. Bird International Airport in

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

Barbuda Codrington Airport Barbuda Codrington Airport was a public airport serving the village of Codrington, on the island of Barbuda. Its runway is only 500 metres long, only sufficient for STOL or very light aeroplanes. In September 2017, Hurricane Irma Hurri ...

veered off the runway and crashed into a field upon arrival in Barbuda. None of the six passengers on board were injured in the accident. * On 8 November 2015, another Beechcraft Model 99,

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

N7994H, veered off the runway into a grassy area upon landing at George F. L. Charles Airport in

. The aircraft's right landing gear had malfunctioned. The sole occupant of the aircraft, the pilot, was not harmed. Following the incident, Hummingbird Air suspended all operations and the

launched an investigation.

References

External links