7 News Belize

Sankat Son In Serious Trouble In The US
posted (September 25, 2018)
Clement Sankat, the President of the University of Belize, is making international news after his son, 22 year-old Nishal Sankat, has been criminally charged for allegedly attempting to steal a commercial aircraft from the Orlando Melbourne International Airport.

News reports out of Florida say that on last Thursday, at around 2 a.m., Nishal Sankat jumped the airport compound's fence, and he boarded a vacant American Airlines flight. The aircraft was being worked on by 2 maintenance employees who spotted him and immediately detained him. The staffers were attempting to take him to a holding area, when he allegedly gave them the slip and ran off. Those 2 maintenance employees set chase in a golf cart, and caught him. He was then handed over to Florida law enforcement, and he has since been charged with grand theft, burglary and trespassing. He was denied bail.

News reports say that at his arraignment, 2 FBI agents were called in to testify on whether or not there were reasonable grounds to justify the charges brought against him. One of the agents told the court that he was responding to a "possible terrorist incident".

That officer went on to say, that he interviewed Sankat, and he told the court that Sankat said, quote, "he intended to harm himself… and in that process he had no regard for the eventuality of harming others in the process." End quote.

Nishal Sankat is a senior at the Florida Institute of Technology. Reports out of the US say that he is studying aviation management, and he has had some flight training. US aviation authorities say that Sankat received his commercial pilot's certification in January, and he was qualified to fly a multi-engine aircraft.

His family issued a statement to the Trinidadian Express Newspaper saying, quote, "Professor Clement Sankat and his family appreciate the many inquiries and calls of support they have received as they go through this extremely difficult period. At this time, they have not yet been able to speak with their son, and since they have limited information, are still trying to ascertain all the facts surrounding the incident, and his well-being… As expected, their focus right now is on providing all the legal, mental, emotional and parental support possible. What has occurred acutely underscores to the family the need to be aware of the challenges young students face, especially those living away from home and family."

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