Piper Wreckage

The Piper PA-31T Cheyenne II is a pressurized twin-turboprop business aircraft developed from the PA-31 Navajo, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-28 engines. F-BXSK, registered in France under that designation, was based at Grand Case Espérance Airport on the French side of Saint-Martin.

On August/September 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall on the island as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds exceeding 295 kilometers per hour. Parked on the apron at Grand Case, F-BXSK was displaced and overturned by the storm. The aircraft was never repaired. On September 18, an Airbus AS350B3e performing powerline inspection flights for EDF documented the wreck inverted at the end of the runway, one of the few recorded images of its post-storm condition. The wings were subsequently removed and the airframe transported by truck to Leila’s Beach Restaurant in Baie Nettlé, Saint-Martin, where it is exhibited as a permanent attraction. The cabin interior, still fitted with its original leather seats, shows progressive deterioration from exposure. Vegetation is visible through the damaged cockpit.